Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M2 vs. M3 first impressions (CAGE MATCH !!)

A friend at work was nice enough to lend me his M3s for a couple of days. Took them home this evening and set them up next to the M2s on the bedroom system, hooked to an HK 3270 stereo receiver and Sony NS-315 player.

First impressions :

- M3s look the right size, M2s look too small

- the most noticeable difference is mid-bass... like the Atoms, some instruments are emphasized a surprising amount... but not as much difference as the Atoms

- switching back and forth requires a small adjustment in volume, M3s more efficient than M2s (duh)

- M2s sound very thin by comparison on most music, bigger difference than I expected

- with Atoms you could almost hear (imagine) the resonance around the port tuning, nothing like that with the M3s so far

- difference with vocals seemed comparable to M2 vs. M60, need to do more testing and haul out the Diana Krall CDs

- only listened to a couple of FM stations plus Genesis "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" so far but initial impression is that the M3 is MUCH more satisfying as a standalone speaker, again more than I expected

- speakers are along the long wall of a ~13 x 18 room, not much in the way of reflections off the side, first guess is that is a pretty good near-field environment and minimizes the midrange differences between M2 and M3... or maybe my ears aren't good enough to hear the difference yet

I'm going to do some random listening tonight, think about it tomorrow, and do some more intensive testing tomorrow night.

BTW, I think my friend owns some real classics here. Serial #s M3SE...66. Knurled binding posts instead of 5-way requiring a wrench. Maple/Black finish, seems identical to my M2s except for the size.

OK, it's official. I would have saved a LOT of money if I had just bought M3s instead of M2s at the start. Did I listen to the reviews ? No...

To my ears, in a room setup which minimizes the effect of off-axis frequency response, the M3s give me all the things I like about the M2s plus what seems to be decent bass response and a sufficiently full sound that I can enjoy them without a sub. This is not a revelation, I realize.

In hindsight, here were my options :

Option 1 :

Buy M2s. Beautiful sound but a bit thin on the bottom end. Buy a sub. Move the speakers downstairs. Make the mistake of playing a DVD through the new speakers. Discover HT on good speakers. Continue to complain about sub-to-main matching with a stereo receiver. Buy M60s for music. Buy more DVDs. Get curious about surround. Buy an AV receiver (HK630), hook up the crappy old speakers as surrounds. Imagine how much better 5.1 would sound. Buy a VP100. Hook the M2s up as surrounds. Discover how 5 channel audio is supposed to sound. Still no music system in my bedroom. Buy QS8s, freeing up M2s or M60s for bedroom system. Lend the sub out to family so I have to keep the M60s downstairs and use the M2s upstairs. Lament about the lack of bass upstairs.

Option 2 :

Buy M3s. Listen and enjoy.

what an interesting center channel you have?



bigjohn

That's a regulation Mark IV stinky dog butt, required to keep the imaging consistent when I switch from one speaker to the next. I have to move a couple of feet left and right every time I switch speakers (and adjust the volume)... the dog moves back and forth with me to keep the room characteristics stable.

Just like the NRC

"initial impression is that the M3 is MUCH more satisfying as a standalone speaker, again more than I expected "

Hey Man,
Can you give me an idea as to how much difference there is at very low listening levels?
I am considering either another set of M2s or a set of M3s for the bedroom, but they would just about always be used at very low levels to go to sleep to. Is there as much of a difference when they are both played quietly?
Thanks,

Thanks for the mini-review.

The M3s were the first Axioms I ever heard and to be honest if I had my eyes closed and they had told me they were tower speakers I probably would have believed them, .....yeah I know; I'm a salesman's dream .

They really are amazing speakers.

>>I am considering either another set of M2s or a set of M3s for the bedroom, but they would just about always be used at very low levels to go to sleep to. Is there as much of a difference when they are both played quietly?

I found the biggest difference at low volumes, maybe because the M3 response curve is shaped a bit like the Fletcher-Munson "loudness compensation" curves. M2s sound really good if you crank them up -- I guess the bass becomes loud enough to hear

Based on my limited experience so far I think the M3s are the obvious choice for a low-volume bedroom system. The only (minor) downside is that there is a bit more noticeable bass so more potential for disturbing someone but you're going to be playing pretty quietly anyways.

Note -- if matched with a good sub I would still prefer M2s to M3s. Just had to say that.

Must... Control... Zone 2 Speaker impulse...

Great Review(s),-Wow, I Got Nuttin' to Add!

Except that your friends speakers are about 75 pair older than mine! And to add that the old sticker on the back is-IMO-more attractive than the new design.

I checked into a Mark VII Stinky Dog to help with my acoustic probs, but ran into WAF-so have to pass on that one.

Rich.

Thanks...

Phase 1 of the study is ended. It's obvious that I should have originally purchased M3s instead of the M2s. Oh well.

Now onto the more difficult Phase 2. Do I buy M3s ? M40s ? Go back to the Atoms ? Haul the M60s back up into the bedroom and pile a bunch of boxes around them so they don't look so big ?

M40s still seem like the perfect choice -- I imagine they would sound great at the levels I want, and rather than a small bass "hump" they have a really smooth extended bass down to ~40 Hz.

Unfortunately Phase 2 is going to require hauling everything downstairs so I can compare with M60s. If I test upstairs and carry the M60s upstairs for A/B testing that's going to prejudice the outcome, there's no way I'm carrying them down another flight of stairs after that

Then again if I had budget for new speakers I guess I would have bought M3s or M40s already.

Sigh...