Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo So how are the m40's?

they seem to be getting a fair bit of flack... i have been using sony cd3000's through a perreaux shx-1 from a sony ce775 for the last 8 months if that matters. i loved them but now i want speakers. i really am on a budget, i sorta wanted to spend under 700 bux it looks like it will be about 780 for the m40's. thats alright with me. i don't like all this talk about needing to get a sub for the m22's. the sound im looking for is smooth, detailed, warm, and most importantly will draw me into the music. i loved my cd3000's even though they were a TINY bit bright. i listen to lots of stuff, some rock like the smashing pumpkins, some stuff like zero 7 and the postal service, ani difranco and tegan and sara, death cab for cutie, norah jones, sarah mclachlan... so yeah lots of different stuff. what will be the best way to immerse me in all this music? also, my room is set up, that the foot of the bed is about a meter from the wall in front of it, and the top of the bed is against the other wall. and i want the speakers on either side of my bed. im pretty sure i want the m40's because i don't want to go through all of that sub bs and speaker stands. that will jack up the price of them. there is not a chance in hell you can convince me to go anywhere higher than the m40. i can probably get a better deal on something like the energy c5's but people don't really like those. how about the paradigm esprit? thanks for your help.

EDIT: btw im my setup will be Sony CE775 (i could mod it later if i wanted)>Glass Toslink>Panasonic SA-XR50 (you may have heard about these digital amps, these components are not going anywhere btw)>basic wires (for now)>speakers, w/e i get...

welcome Muffinman,
if you check at the Factory Outlet, they have bargains on speakers with very slight cosmetic blemishes. Most outlet buyers haven't been able to find a single thing wrong with their speakers (including myself). That'll save you some money.

I'm not sure where you are located, but even in Canadian $$$, a pair of M40tis are only $680, $612 from the F.O.

I have not actually read any criticism of the M40s anywhere, including on this site. The worst sentiment I have heard is that in an increasingly Home Theater obsessed world the M40s are overlooked since they are ideal music speakers but **if you already have a sub for HT** don't offer anything more than the bookshelf speakers.

For a music system IMO it's a totally different story. I still prefer full-range speakers and still have not been able to get exactly the same sound from a bookshelf+sub combination. I ended up buying M60s for music because (a) I had the money at the time, (b) I hadn't figured out where the M40s fit, but then I ended up finding the M60s were too big for the room where I wanted the music system anyways. M40s would have been perfect for me.

For a music system I would go with the M40s and never look back. My M2s sound great for jazz but I really miss the bass when playing certain rock bands. If you're going to be watching more movies then IMO a good sub is a must-have, and you'll end up with bookshelf speakers because you spent your money on the sub.

I think you would be really happy with the m40s. Only caution is that if they're anything like the other Axiom mains I own they are going to want to be a foot or so from the back wall or they can sound a bit boomy; make sure you have space. The M40s are much less deep than the M60s so this shouldn't be a problem.

I own a pair of M40's and absolutely love them!! They can get down low enough for most rock music without a sub. The midrange is laid back (being a simple 2-way), but that's the way I like it.

I also got mine from the FO, and cannot find a blemish on them. I think the logo badge is slightly askew (depending on which way I tilt my head!), but no marks or scratches.

You won't be disappointed.

wow thanks for the tip on the outlet thing! are they still covered under the 30 day tryout? is there any warrenty on these products?

EDIT: i meant 780 after the 15% sales tax :-/

Same warranty, same guarantee, and no difference technically. Axiom's QC dept is very stiff, but most people have yet to find any blemishes or nicks.

My QS8s showed up this week from the factory outlet. There was a thumbnail-type mark in the vinyl on one edge of the speaker enclosure, perhaps 1/8" or less. I believe warranty, return policy etc... are all identical to normal purchases.

Your music collection sounds eerily similar to mine. I can only conclude that you broke into my house at some point, and copied all of my CD's. I don't know where the zero 7 came from though - maybe you broke into my neighbour's house too?

obviously, thats what i did, person i don't know.

when you guys say laid back midrange... what does that mean? i don't know if you know what the sennheiser hd580s are, but i hated them, and everyone describes them as laid back. they couldn't do anything right. playing a distorted guitar through them was horrible. just horrible they couldn't rock, they had not visceral bass slam at all... but yeah, so what do you mean by laid back? are they quick enough to really rock out? but be really smooth enough to relax you? would any users of them say that they involve you with the music? like really draw you in? that was my biggest concern with the senns, i just felt completely disconnected with the music. honestly im sure im in for a big shock when i get these because i will be so happy with them but ive never really used good speakers before... except a $80k system in a little hi-fi store... i don't think these will exactly hold up so no one has opinions on paradigms or energies in the same range?