Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Various questions on M40/M50, DC area

dwchiang, pmulvey,

I have M60s about 7 ft. apart, I sit about 8 ft from each one of them, and their rear ports are 8 to 10 inches out from curtains that hang behind each one. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Alan has stated that you can get away with as little as 3 inches of space between the rear ports and the wall. I would think a little more space would be better, but if you can get at least that much, you should be OK. This holds true for all the ported speakers.

I'm sorry I misinterpreted what you had written.

M22s w/ sub or M50s, IMO.

No, there was no misunderstanding, I wasn't all that specific in my post about what I was/wasn't considering. It does seem like the M60s would be the best, I just can't justify the expense. I don't think I'd go for a bookshelf+sub; it seems to hard to match them seamlessly. So yes, the M50s seem like they might be about right.

There's a very interesting thread/review here comparing the M40s, M50s, and M80s (which are said to be similar to the M60s, except by M80 owners ). This is what helped me to make my decision to go for the M50s.

I think you would be surprised at how well the M22's integrate with a good subwoofer. That said, for the money you would spend on M22's, stands, & a sub you should probably go with the M50's, as long as the bass extension of a sub is not critical to you.

Also, have you checked out the factory outlet? The pair I received didn't seem to have any real visible defect.

Good luck with the decision!

I originally purchased the m22s, but, I had an itch which I needed to scratch. I always wondered if the m50s would have been a better choice. So, I ordered the m50s and listened to them side by side with the 22s for about 3 weeks. Initially, the differences were minor, but after a few days, the soundstage and clarity of the m22s overwhelmed the 50s. Luckily, Amie allowed me to return them. I had trouble believing that there could be much difference between the laid back sound of the m3, m40, m50s vs the clarity of the m2, m22, m60, m80 line up, but there is. Both the m22s and the m50s are nice speakers, but the laid back quality of the m50s wasn't what I was looking for.

just to get in on this thread

I live a mile north of Dupont Circle in DC and have M3s waiting for me when I return from vacation tommorrow. I am thinking about m22s.

Thanks everyone for the posts

I'm curious, that post is very informative but he put the M50s third out of three. What about it pushed you towards the M50s? Thanks!

Whoops... wrong review! I just had that one saved. Must have been when I was leaning towards the M40s. Nevermind...

So, what finally did push you towards the M50s? Did you ever get to compare them with M40s or M60s?