Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo My new m60's: thoughts and review.......

Well it’s been about a week since I received my m60's. I was initially skeptical due to the fact that I always had speakers with at least a 12” or 15” woofer in them (old school). I really figured I would try them for 30 days and return them. I never thought I would be as impressed as I am with them.

I also pondered getting the m80’s instead of the m60’s, after talking to axiom and weighing all things I decided on the m60’s.

My receiver is an HK 230, after initial hookup and power-up I was completely, and I mean completely amazed with the amount of bass I was getting (not to mention the beautiful mids and highs). I immediately went to my sub as I thought I had left it on……it was off!

One of the biggest concerns I had was that these would not get the bass sound I was accustomed to. In one aspect I was correct, gone was the boomy, muddy sounding bass and it was replaced with a tight, precise, low bass. Deep Low Bass! I still find myself each day going to my sub to check it.

I rarely use my sub anymore simply because of the fantastic sound I get with the speakers alone. I can’t say enough how pleased and surprised I am with the bass on this speaker.

Now for the mids and highs…..again they are fantastic, smooth and precise. I can hear each note as it is meant to be heard and each cymbal is clear and accurate. Voices are another thing I noticed immediately, they no longer sound like they are singing thru a blanket.

From smooth jazz to metallica these speakers continue to amaze me. I feel that I made the correct choice with the 60’s vs. the 80’s as I cant throw anything at these 60’s they cant handle. I have run the volume to levels which are as loud as I would ever want and they don’t miss a beat. I don’t mean to take anything away from the 80’s but for myself I couldn’t be happier and I saved 300 dollars over the 80’s

Today I was at the local CC and noticed the infinity beta 50’s. I asked the sales associate to let me hear some music thru them; this was not in the cards as the receiver that was hooked to them was not working correctly. He suggested taking them home to sample them and stated their 30 day return policy.

Well out of sheer curiosity I took him up on his offer and took the pair home. Immediately I noticed the fit and finish was not in the same league as my m60’s. I hooked them up side by side and I couldn’t have been happier…………..happy that I indeed did make the right decision with the m60’s. The infinities were not even close to the axioms in sound quality. After about a half hour of listening they were returned.

I can say enough good things about these m60’s, Thanks Axiom For A Wonderful Product!

GD, glad to read how much you're enjoying your M60s. Don't neglect to work them out with some classical items as well.

Glad you like yours as well as I like mine!
Now get busy rediscovering your music library.

quit it....I'm itching to upgrade my M22ti to the M60 now!! :-)

Great to hear you're so thrilled with your M60's! They sound awesome.

It just makes me want mine even more. Waiting for my M60's is torture but it sure sounds like its worth the wait.

Thanks for sharing, Jag

Interesting name, we are covering that very topic in my anthropology class right now.

That must mean you either just did, or about to study the founder effect, as well.

Ah yes! Another member of the "What the....? Is my sub on"? club.

i had the same amazement and wonder in my M60's. glad you like 'em. although, i still like to run my sub. it gives that added punch, even with music, that i prefer.

bigjohn

"Now get busy rediscovering your music library"
This is exactly what I have been doing all week long since my M60's arrived, and in all honesty it has not been a completly pleasant experience!
The Trouble?
What I was using before (a wonderful old set of Polk S-10's that I still think played WAY beyond their $$$)were just no where near as accurate a set of speakers as these M60's, and all of the old, badly recorded/mastered stuff in my CD collection just sort of slipped through without notice.
Now, all of those discs just sound horrible!
The good stuff has been elevated to new heights that I just cannot believe, but when I come across something that sounds terrible, it just breaks my heart.
I put on Layla a couple of nights ago, and even though I have the latest (pre-SACD upgrade) version, it sounded as if I was listening to it while wearing my motorcycle helmet. What were they thinking? (And as an aside, I did a little poking around on the web and this seems to be a common complaint about this CD- even the SACD is getting luke-warm reviews)
So, while it is indeed a great thing to re-discover all of that great old stuff that you have not listened to in ages, beware that with these wonderful speakers, there is going to be some downside, the further you dig.
But, on the up-side, at least it is easier to smuggle new CD's into the house than it is a new speaker system! ;-)
TjB

In reply to:

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Layla...sounded as if I was listening to it while wearing my motorcycle helmet. What were they thinking?...this seems to be a common complaint about...even the SACD...

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I've got the Layla SACD and I agree. Great artistically, Clapton is a genius, but one of the worst mixing jobs I've ever heard.

But you can't "get blood out of a turnip" as they say. If the original tapes were poor quality no amount of digital remastering and remixing can fix that.

I just don't understand it. Some early 70s material (e.g. Dark Side of the Moon) were obviously recorded with primitive equipement by today's standards, yet they are technically magnificant on stereo CD, and even better in multichannel SACD.

One of the most mysterious differences is between the two Elton John Albums "Don't Shoot Me", and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". Both recorded by the same artist, the same band, using the same producer, at the same studio, and within 1 yr of each other. Despite great songs, Don't Shoot Me is acoustically flat and muddy. By contrast Yellow Brick Road (esp on SACD) IMO rivals Dark Side of the Moon in pure acoustic engineering. The sound is 3 dimensional, vivid, spectacular.

No question with Axiom speakers the bad sounds worse and the good sounds better. Too bad there's not more good.

See the thread in this forum titled "Favorite 5-10 SACDs" for some recommendations, both pro and con.

>>I just don't understand it. Some early 70s material (e.g. Dark Side of the Moon) were obviously recorded with primitive equipement by today's standards, yet they are technically magnificant on stereo CD, and even better in multichannel SACD.

Dark Side of the Moon was engineered by Alan Parsons at his most creative. He worked pretty hard at getting the best from the technology, and DSOM was a pretty special affair.

[EDIT] Sounds like there was a sea-change going on in recording technology at the time. DSOM was also one of the first albums recorded with serious attention played to mixing down for quadraphonic distribution :

"The album was made during the summer of 1972, at a time of rapid technological change. It was recorded on 16-track equipment at Abbey Road, with the new Dolby noise reduction system being adopted halfway through the sessions."

Other interesting notes :

http://www.stereosociety.com/body_foursides.html

I'm with bigjohn. I don't use the sub to help the M60s sound better, but to create that "sitting on the drum riser" feel of the kick drum (and bass guitar).

If you happen to have the Styx "Caught in the Act" double CD set, check out the beginning of "Snowblind" with and without the sub and you'll see what I mean. Whoever was running sound at that show gets a big two thumbs up from me on the bass guitar mix. Simply awesome.