Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions AXIOM M60

I am going to explain this as simple as I can. First off I am a newbie, so forgive my ignorance. I just received my M60'S to replace the M50'S, I have the Denon 1802 for a reciever to drive 'em. The problem is I had the M50's for just under a month and they sounded nice and big (they replaced a pair of M22'S). The only reason I replaced the M50'S is for even bigger sound, Here is the problem, the Denon had the 50'S sounding crystal clear with plenty of bass (keep in mind I dont have a sub but I do have a VP150 center). Now the just recieved M60's sound muffeled (sorta like if you'd cover your hand over the phone) even in the same mode on the reciever that the M50's were in. I've tried the other various modes messed with the bass & treble and the only one that sounds ok is the Dolby Surround PL 2 mode and even then it places too much info to the center. I've tried tweaking with all other modes and even when I take the volume down in the center channel it sends more info to the M60's, but once again muffled. I know it's not the reciever so is it something I'm doing wrong. Also when i play in this mode It doesnt go as loud as the 5 Channel stereo mode did with the M50'S. Iv'e heard various posters say that the Axiom line is overly bright, well my problem at least with this current setup is UNDERBRIGHT...........PLEASE HELP!!!!

Since the M60s are 2 inches deeper, is it possible that they are now too close to the wall? Try pulling them away from the wall. Having the speakers wired out of phase (wires reversed) will cause the bass to be reduced, but I don't think you would hear much of a difference in the highs.

This might sound ridiculous, but as you know, the M60s have two sets of terminals( M22s and M50s have one set)to allow for possible bi-amping or bi-wiring. Is it possible that somehow you disconnected the two sets of terminals and that the tweeters aren't connected? Other than the unlikely coincidence of both tweeters being defective, I can't think of any reason for what you report.

I dont know if this is the correct way to connect these things but,What I actually did after some playing with the wiring was, slip the bottom possitive connection to the top connection and the same for the negative and now the highs that were missing are coming in clearly. But if this is not the correct way of connecting these speakers please inform me.......Is this what you guys call "Bi-wiring"?


Thanx Fellas

Hi kayizm et al,

Since I answered your problem by email, kayizm, and Johnk correctly diagnosed your troubles here, I'm posting my response to you for the benefit of others.

Incidentally, thanks, Johnk, for pointing out the nonsense inherent in biwiring and the dubious benefits of bi-amping, at least in most consumer installations.

My email reply to kayzim follows:

"On the the M60ti's rear-panel speaker connectors, there are two gold straps linking the two pairs of gold-plated binding posts. Be sure the knurled knobs are tightened on all four binding posts not only to the speaker cables but to the two gold straps. Those link the midrange/tweeter drivers with the woofers. It doesn't matter whether you connect the speaker cables to the upper or lower pair of connectors as long as the gold straps are securely in place.

What happened was the straps were out of place and you had connected the speaker cables to just the woofer section of the M60ti's, so of course they sounded muffled!

Unfortunately, biwiring is a British fad that migrated to Canadian and US speaker manufacturers about a decade or so ago. It provides no audible benefits whatsoever, nor does it make sense in terms of basic laws of physics. This is why you encountered difficulty--because these two sets of binding posts (for marketing/consumer reasons) are on the rear of your speaker and the gold straps became dislodged.

I regret you had any problems. Please make sure the two gold straps linking the upper and lower sets of terminals are securely in place!

Hope you enjoy your new M60ti's!"

Regards,