Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Advice needed: AMP/CD player for Axiom M22?

If you want a little monster sub for music, the EP400 is outstanding. I have a pair coupled with a pair of M2s; however, 1 unit would be more than enough if the room isn't overly large.

Unfortunately, it is not a budget sub, but it sounds so good....

TAM

My little one is close to 1 year old and the sub option has been held for now by my wife. The last thing we want is to damage my daughter's hearing. That is one of the reasons to start with the bookshelf speakers.

Down the road, floor standing speakers would certainly make sense then M22 will be moved to either bedroom or rear.

M22s can damage your daughter's hearing all by themselves.

The trick is to use the Volume Control wisely, which is difficult at times, ha!!

TAM

You are absolutely right. It is hard to enjoy the music when the speakers are whistling.

Pretty well any amp will make M22 shine, except cheapo amps.
A tube or robust amp is the best. I started with a mid range Onkyo TXNR525 was great. Up graded to a Tascam PA-R200 with THX 2 and toroidial transformers. and it was noticeable a lot more detail to the point of " I never heard that before".

The sub and M22 is a must they are great alone, but my M3s have more BASS without a sub than my M22s. If possible highly recommend one.

Is there a best match 2 channel AMP with M22?

Looking at Marantz PM 6005 and NAD D 3020/C326 now.Open to any other suggestions.

Rock , have a look at Emotiva they have some really great sounding gear. I have an XMC-1 pre/pro and I love it.

Best match can be easily defined by usually two things:
a) does it have the features you want or need?
b) does it have sufficient specs re: power, capacitance, etc. for your needs?

The second item means less since you can play any speaker within the limits of the amp. Not all people are satisfied with 75 decibels at 10 feet away though (as an example) and as such, you have to consider beefier amps and larger speakers.

Rock, welcome to Axiom. Since you're aiming for a "budget" system, an integrated amplifier such as the two you've mentioned isn't the way to go. These days multi-channel receivers are the cost-effective option, even if limited to only two channel use(disregarding the possibility of future expansion to better enjoy music in surround mode). I'd suggest that you consider one of the excellent quality factory refurbished receivers available(if you're in the U.S.)from Accessories4less in the $200-$300 range, such as the Denon E400.

Yes, my experience has been that although the M22s have good bass by themselves, adequate for most music, adding a sub is desirable, and this is another reason to consider an HT receiver. A crossover is necessary to best blend the M22s and sub, and since subs have no internal full crossover it's highly desirable to have this done by the amplifying device. Neither of the units you mention has a sub output and other circuitry with this capability(the sub out on the NAD is simply a line level pre-amp).

I'll also note that you're wise to consider possible hearing damage. Above the low bass(handled by the sub if present) speaker enclosure size has no necessary relationship to sound level capability and speakers such as the M22 or smaller can easily reach damaging levels if proper care isn't taken.

I would partially tend to agree with John in that an inexpensive AVR will get you more features, bang for your buck.
However, if the int-amp is all you want with no huge use for AVR features, or plans to use those features in the future (such as required for movie Dolby Digital 5.1, etc.) then the int-amp will do just fine.
I use one for my office system since i don't need all those AVR extras and although the one i have cost a bit more, it doesn't take up a 30 lb weight of space either (and looks a world better than black).

I don't know the prices of the two int-amps compared to the Denon that John presented though. The AVR may still be more cost efficient.