Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M22ti vs. M3ti

I just purchased an Onkyo TX-8511, and I was all set to purchase the M3tis, but I'm curious about the M22ti. I listen to a lot of hardcore, and indie rock, and I'll be connecting a CD player and a record player to my reciever.

Will the M22tis be worth their price premium?

Do you have a subwoofer?

Nope.

Unless you plan on getting a sub soon, the M3s would probably be a better bet for you. They are considered to have slightly fuller bass than the M22s (less accurate, but it sounds fuller). The M22s are more accurate, but they probably won't have the low end that you want without a sub. With a sub, they're amazing.

Disclaimer:
I've only ever heard the M22s, but I've got M50s that should arrive by next week...

jason-

just keep in mind, these are bookshelf speakers, so neither of them is gonna have a lot of bass. but as ken mentioned, the M3 will be a better fit than the M22s if you dont have a sub. you can get some nice subs for cheap. that is if cost is a factor here.

you can get the dayton 10in sub for around $140 bucks. also, the vega lw-10 can be had for around $160. now, keep in mind, these ARE NOT the best subs out there, but they WILL give you a sturdy bass platform on which to build you HT/stereo system.

if a sub is not in your future, then i would go with the M3's for now.

bigjohn

I have both speakers, and generally agree with consensus opinion that the M3's have a little more bass, but the M22's are more accurate. I would go with M22's and build on that, because the M3's are not going to satisfy a bass head on their own anyway.

I am running the M22's without a sub and they sound just fine, although very little rock gets run through the M22 system. They don't punch you in the chest like a subwoofer would, but especially with things like Jazz they do a fine job on their own. I can hear the bass hits in the basement, so it's not like they are totally anemic.

I would suggest that not any sub will do. A cheap sub will give you the punch, but you will diminish the accuracy of the system. You should mate the M22's with an accurate, musical sub, which will be a little more spendy.

The M3 has the perception of more bass because of its emphasis in the 100hz area. The M22 actually extends deeper than the M3, but because it does not emphasize anything in the lower region, it makes it seem like it does not have as much bass.

Hi Curtis

I think you're right, but I look at it a bit differently. I love the M3s, but what separates the M3, an excellent speaker from a great audiophile speaker is not the 100 Hz hump, but the about 4db drop off at about 120 Hz and then the further 5-6 db drop off at about 1500 Hz and the about 7 db drop off at 7500 Hz. The slight weakness in the lower mid bass, caused by the 120 Hz weakness and the weakness at the 1500 Hz harmonic is noticeable. The 7500 Hz dip shows up as the weakness in the M3s highs relative to the M22.

I personally think the M3 could be Axiom's greatest giant killer if they could correct those audible weaknesses. When I say weaknesses, I'm comparing the $275 M3 to the $4,000 Thiel Audio CS2.4, or a JM Lab Mini Utopia.

As to the utility of the frequency response graphs, here's the plot for the Reference 3a de Capo MM



How come a speaker with such a weird looking plot sounds so darn good?

Just for giggles, here's the plot for the M3Ti. This is a superb frequency response curve - but interestingly, the dips on the graph correspond to the weaknesses you can hear in the M3.

I wish I had my M3s back (but in a different color) now that I have another sub for the gameroom. Oh well.