Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Bookshelves vs floorstanding

Hello all,

I'm brand new here, and at present I'm not an axiom owner. I am in the market to purchase some speakers and I came upon the Axiom site rather by accident (I hadn't even heard of Axiom until a couple of days ago!)

After spending some time reading the forums I realized that this was a pretty cool community and that Axiom owners absolutely loved their speakers - this has caught my attention more than any reviews ever could.

Anyway, I am at present looking to upgrade the speakers in a 2 channel stereo (I currently have some Paradigm Phantoms - I'm not disappointed by them in any way, but I've got another room I can move those to and I thought I'd go a little more upscale this time round).

Because I've been so happy with the Phantoms I was naturally thinking of going to Paradigm monitors or studios - but seeing all the enthusiam you folks have for Axioms I'm definitely considering them as well.

My question, as alluded to in the subject relates to whether it would be a better choice to pick up a pair of bookshelves + a sub vs a pair of floorstanders. Some audio folks that I respect quite a bit are big proponents of the bookshelf + sub approach and claim that they will usually outperform floorstanders.

On the other hand, a speaker like the M60 looks like it's a great speaker for two channel stereo and the price is staggeringly good - I simply can't believe that it's that cheap! Also this is a fairly big room, though the phantoms have no problem filling it.

anyway, I was just wondering if any of you had any thoughts on this?

Thanks for any thoughts or advice!

Cheers,

Bill

Hi Bill. Welcome! Well, bookshelves with a sub (depending on the sub) should go lower in frequency response than floorstanders, such as the M60s, by themselves. The question is, how deep in the frequency response does the music itself go? There are some who feel that very little music goes much deeper than what the M60s and M80s offer. Unless you already have some, don't forget to factor in the cost of stands for the bookshelves. Stands are superior to placing them on shelves, etc. due to the effect of the shelves on the speaker's sound.

I am a happy M60 owner. But If I could only have the M60s alone, or M22s with a sub, I think I'd go for the M22s and sub. Now if you could afford M60s AND a sub, that's a horse of a different color.

Hi Jack - thanks for the response!

Good point about the stands - it does make the cost of the bookshelves + sub higher than floorstanders, but still, it's not a stratospheric difference.

Anyway, I'm not in a hurry to make my purchase - I still do want to audition a number of speakers and that takes time given my work schedule. Plus I've got to convince the wife regarding the need for an upgrade - that's always lots of fun

Do you use your M60's in a 2 channel stereo setup or is it a multi-channel HT setup?

I'm just wondering how they perform in a 2 channel setup - I will eventually set up a HT, but that's way down the road...

Cheers,

Bill

Hi Bill, welcome.

I love my M60's and typically listen to music in 2 channel. I found that adding a quality sub made an enormous difference for movies, but for the music I listen to, did not make a huge difference in most material. So, I guess I'd respectfully disagree with my friend Jack, depending upon your listening habits. Paired with even a modest amp, the M60's play surprisingly low and really fill a large room easily. I find that I prefer both the sound and aesthetics of floorstanding speakers, but I don't think you can make a bad choice within the Axiom line.

And, you're right about the community here. It's a good place.

I have a multi-channel HT setup. Tom and I really aren't in disagreement, because we're talking about subjective preferences. There are a couple of threads going on around here about this very subject.

Today, I was listening to Steely Dan's Two Against Nature CD. I kept switching from stereo (Mains +sub) to direct (mains only) to Dolby PLII surround. I am so acclimated to having a sub that I much preferred stereo to direct. But, when I switched to PLII, I REALLY liked it the best. Some CDS, in PLII will have too much information in the surrounds, for my liking. But with Two Against Nature, the effect, to me, was to simply expand the soundstage, and improve the imaging. Please remember that this is only my opinion. Many others feel just the opposite, and they are absolutely entitled to do so. When dealing with preferences, others don't have to be wrong for me to be right.

By all means, listen to as many speakers as you reasonably can. Only you know what YOU like, and want to hear. If you're looking to grow slowly into a full HT setup and would like to start with floorstanders, I don't think you'll suffer by starting with only a pair of M60s, or something comparable. In fact, I would recommend doing that. You will NOT find yourself saying "my that sounds weak." But, I think when you move into a sub you'll really appreciate what it can add even to music. What it adds to movies will really please you.

Hello and Welcome. One important factor is room size. I started with M22's and a sub, but felt that something was missing so I upgraded to 60's with the sub and instantly got what I was looking for. So of course I am going to recommend you get the 60's. Enjoy them to their fullest, then buy a sub later and enjoy them even more. Sub will add to movies tremendously and music significantly. I do still at times prefer to listen to music in direct mode with no sub and the 60's fill the room wonderfully. But I love having the option of a bit more hard hitting bass. (Which my HSU sub takes care of quite nicely).

The more I think about it the more I want to urge you to get the 60's. They can truly stand alone and sound incredible.

PS I still have the 22's for surround which I love them for.

Hi Bill
I am using the 60's in a 2 channel setup and I absolutely love them. They replaced a pair of Paradigm Monitor 7's which I had for 6 years. I liked my 7's but I found that they lacked in midrange clarity. I can tell you that the 60's reproduce vocals with unbelievable clarity and detail, bass is tight and accurate too.

Sorry, I've never had a bookshelf + sub setup so I can't comment, but I'm sure others will chime in.

Also, it wouldn't hurt to know your room size
Al

My main interest is stereo music, and this is a decision I had to make as well. When I first started reading into Axiom speakers I immediately decided that I should go with the M22's + a good sub. However, I really didn't like the idea of buying stands (I also hated having to buy an entertainment centre, but that's another story...) so I started thinking about a floorstanding model.

In the end I bought the M60's and held off on the sub for a little while. I almost decided not to get one because of the amount of bass that these speakers produced, but curiosity got the better of me. I've since added a HSU VTF-2 Mk2 and I currently love my 2.1 (sometimes 2.0) life

So, yeah, I too recommend the M60's.

Thanks for the thoughts - and in fact, my living room may be a bit too big for bookshelves and a sub.

I could, of course, start that way and if it's not adequate, keep the bookshelves for surrounds.

I have to say that I'm really encouraged by the positive comments regarding the 60's. They seem priced way too low to be that good

As to subs, I have been leaning towards one from Hsu - they seem to be the price/performance leader in subwoofers and get astonishing reviews.

Cheers,

Bill

Jack, racing through the posts to catch up, I noticed your comment about sometimes too much surround content using DPLII with some CDs. Have you experimented much with the Dimension control? Within limits it can vary the amount of ambience sent to the surrounds and if adjusted all the way to the front it makes the effect very subtle indeed.