Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M2v2 vs M3v2

I've finally made up my mind to try one of these two speakers.
Of course size is critical as they will actually be in a bookshelf as a necessity due to room decor. (wife)
Already have a Impact Mini sub and these will be in a bookshelf, recessed slightly back from the fireplace sticking out on one side and the outside wall on the other side. Definitely not conducive to best sound in this 18 x 18 family room with 16' vaulted ceilings. Speakers will also be used for 2.1 tv sound.
I would prefer the smaller speakers but wondering if I am sacrificing better sound by not using the M3 version. They are only 2" taller and 40 bucks more, just wondering if they are or can be much better at filling this large room with sound. Any input from experienced users of these 2 would be appreciated. Thanks!

If you have a sub then either speaker would be fine from a frequency response point of view, so the thing to think about is maximum sound level.

The M3's larger bass/mid driver moves almost twice the air so it can play a few dB louder without running into dynamic range compression (ie you turn up the volume but it doesn't seem to get any louder). Figure that the M3s will give you the equivalent of one more "just a bit louder" twist on the volume control - the difficult question is whether or not you need that last twist.

I did some testing swapping my M2s in to replace M60s in a 20x20 loft with vaulted ceilings opening into pretty much the whole house, with sub. The M2s did fine up to "louder than normal TV" but couldn't move enough air for "hey y'all, listen to *this*" HT levels.

Are you replacing an existing speaker - if so, what are you using now ?

Also, does your receiver/amplifier include the ability to set your speakers to "small", ie blocking most of the low notes from the main speakers ? That will also make a difference in terms of how loudly they will play.

If you're wondering why I'm talking about sound level so much I guess it's in reference to your "filling the room with sound" comment. M2s can do that (wonderfully) when the conditions are right, but M3s are definitely a safer bet for a large-ish room. The specs only talk about a 1dB difference in maximum SPL but my feeling was that the difference was more pronounced than that.

The only chance I had to do direct M2 vs M3 testing was in a largely empty bedroom roughly 13x19 feet, without a sub, listening to a variety of music with the speakers on the long wall. My conclusion was that M3s were the way to go for a room that size and the volume levels I typically listened at.

thanks for the reply... I am replacing my larger Grafyx bookshelfs that I rebuilt with better speakers and crossovers years ago. With a near 24" height, they no longer fit with the new built ins I just installed.
I just spent the last hr listening to them on the floor (w/o sub) and they still sound great.. actually better than when they were placed on the shelf, except I can hear signs of a woofer going. I am debating about keeping these in the mix as B speakers. Anyway. stereo is older Pioneer, amp, peamp, eq etc , their top line at the time. No settings, actually have to route the sub to the speakers. I am weighing the subjective sound reviews that I have read about these 2 speakers against each other. From these reviews I get the idea that the M2 probably has a better "quality" sound with a wider soundstage, neutral mids and highs vs the M3's increased bass response and maybe slightly more volume with less neutrality. If my take of the reviews is correct the M2 would definitely be the way to go if I keep my other speakers in the mix, maybe not if I don't. I am leaning towards trying M2 and if not satisfied moving up to the M3.

Certainly try the M2's, worse thing you would have to do is pay the $40 more for the M3's, Axiom covers the cost of shipping when doing these 'upgrades' as long as it is within the 30 day trial period.