Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Out with the new and in with the newer

My friend who just bought M5s is over. She's been switching between the M2s and the M5s with all three of my subs going and crossed over at 80Hz and location-specific phase settings. With no Audyssey, the M2s sound better. With Audyssey, she describes the M5s as slightly warmer but admits this difference is very minor. She is wondering why she bought M5s which are larger and more expensive. I reminded her she does not have my subbage. She has vowed to fix that.

The M2s are no different than the M5s when it comes to dispersion and sound projection. I can place them 6 feet apart or 12 feet apart and I get a wall of 3D sound from 12 feet away. In fact, the M2s are far less picky about placement. Their backs are currently 42" away from the front wall. With Jimmy Sax, we can see the highs being sprayed across the space between their backs and towards the front wall and the sides. All images are behind them. The effect is just unbelievable.

No, none of this is scientific. Just hyperbole from a couple of listeners.

Sorry Mike for not posting as frequently as you'd like.

A few board members have told me over the years the M2s are ok for surround duty but not for fronts. Maybe they were talking about v3 or earlier. I don't hear any faults when using them as fronts. In fact, quite the opposite.

These M2s elevate my respect for Axiom's speaker design capabilities even more.

Click to see bigger image.

The M2 bookshelves are absolute keepers. They have no problem performing in my 4200 cu.ft. room. I'm 12 feet away and can push them to 103 dBC peaks without a problem (3 subs included). They can likely go louder but I'm feeding them with the 1500 so I'm holding back for fear of vaporization. I am in awe of the clarity, soundstage and imaging.

Sounds like the midwoofer is the secret to the M5's awesomeness. What's the wood/stain choice on the M2 bookshelves? Looks awesome.

Bman, walnut espresso. I think I ordered low gloss. It's very nice particularly in bright daylight. My Buck Vantage with its walnut FRN handle will look smashing on it.

I can't say I like the bordeaux on the on-walls but I suppose it's personal preference.

Very nice. I'm not a fan of red stain either.

Apparently all 6.5", 5.25" and tweeter baskets were changed to cast for v3. The mid-woofer is a wee beastie. It looks like it's capable of a good half inch peak-to-peak excursion which is partially responsible for the stunning performance of the M2.

Earlier today I moved all speakers out of my 4,200 cu.ft. main room and listened to just the M2s and M5 bookshelves with my 3 subs crossed over at 80Hz. Try as I might, I could not hear a difference between the M2s and M5s. The only time I could hear a difference was with Audyssey off - the M2s don't need Audyssey. The M5s benefit a bit. (The M100s benefit a lot). At times I thought the M2s image better but really, I cannot be sure. I do know the M2s are less fussy with placement. I pushed both from very quiet to very loud (103 dBC at 12 feet away).

If you're not going to use a sub in a space larger than 800 cu.ft., M5 is the way to go. With a sub or small room, save your money and space and buy M2.

As for on-walls, they are nothing more than wife-pleasers. If you want an emotionally rewarding performance, floor-standers or bookshelves are the way to go.

My buddies and I are simply stunned with the M2. Last night, one of my buddies who is very familiar with all my speakers, thought the M100s were on. It was the M5s. He didn't believe it until he checked for himself.

How would you rate them towards M3.