Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners No more M22s?

Wow Mojo, your claim for the M2's boggles my mind. I just can't fathom the small M2's have that kind of performance. I have M2's, but they're the surrounds on my HT system so I'm only hearing secondary performance. We'll be redoing that room sometime over the next year and when they come down I'll try them with a sub in my music room and get back to you.
I'm curious, what kind of music do you listen to on the M2's, and what size room? (I'm mostly listening to blues, jazz, and classical, in that order; and in a 13'x14' room.)

I have the M5's a little high, the woofer is at ear level. I'm thinking of getting angled isolation pads to tilt them down a bit, but they sound good so I'm in no hurry.
I do have them horizontally toed in toward the center point of my chair. I might as well add that they're about 8' from the listening position and about 6.5' apart.

Let me first tell you about the M5s. If you can, even temporarily, get the tweeters 6" below your ears, and move them at least a couple of feet away from the front wall, you'll be rewarded with a deep soundstage as if they are projecting into the space behind them all across their width and beyond. I can achieve this in any room. See photos below. You can click on the photos to make them bigger. Look how low the M5s are placed.

As for the M2 bookshelves and on-walls, you can read my reviews at the links below. I was shocked when I heard them. That's when it finally hit home for me that larger Axioms are "nothing more" than spectrum and SPL extenders. The actives go further by increasing low end range and accuracy across the entire spectrum which results in greater spatial resolution and a more life-like presentation. They can also hit very high SPLs for large MLPs (more than 18 feet).

https://www.axiomaudio.com/reviews/index/list/product/301/

https://www.axiomaudio.com/m2-on-wall-speaker

I've placed them in my 1900 cu.ft. living room and 4200 cu.ft. main room (not shown). They sound at home in both locations.

I listen to blues, jazz and rock.

I went from M3 to M22 then to M80.
I never found the M22 to lack in any way aside from low end. I used mine with a SVSPB1000.
I've never heard the M5 but I ogled over the Bryston model of M5 in store for the couple years my local shop called Hifi center carried them.

M2's with a sub are extremely good IMO, both for music and for movies. Incredibly clear, just not quite enough bass without a sub, at least for me.

I used to switch back and forth between M2ti's and M60ti's in my home theater system as a demonstration and you could only really hear a difference at high volumes, which makes sense.

Yup, as John said. And those are the ti he's talking about. V4 has the OhSoSweet tweet, an improved mid-woofer that makes you want to break down and cry because it's so emotionally wrenching and a real cross-over to boot.

I used the M2 bookshelf in my 1900 cu.ft. living room on stands with no sub for 2.0 music. No problem and far more SPL than I can handle. Then I went to the M2OW for that space with dual subs. I use the dual subs because I had bass interaction with the OW that I could not control. So I cut them off at 80Hz and hand off to the sub in 2.2 with each sub fed from its own channel off my Pioneer pre-amp outs. Deeeeep, wiiiide soundstage and better than any other Axiom I've used in that room including active LFR. They acoustically disappear.

I can use M2 bookshelves in my 4200 cu.ft. room for music and movies along with my subs. No problem as long as my MLP is within 12 feet of them. Deeeep and wiiiide soundstage down there too and a total disappearing act. But, in that room, the actives are superior in almost every way.

I'm looking forward to a bunch of M2OWs which are now in production.

I have a pair of M22Ti's, not currently in service. The last time I used them was about 2 years ago when my Klipsch Fortes were being refinished after a flood.

I drove them with a Conrad Johnson Classic 60se tube amp and Jadis preamp. The M22s produced beautiful music. They are clear, and detailed, the mids were excellent, the highs are airy, and the bass was honest and surprisingly deep, although it sure benefited from an EP500 which I later added to the system.

These M22s were the first generation and I'm sure the most recent versions are even better. I'm glad to hear they are still available on special order. They are terrific speakers.

This is how M22s and M22 wannabes ought to be treated. One smack from a gunstock war club prevents brain damage.

I always loved M22s, all my surrounds are now M22 onwalls.