Forget about break-in for a minute...

Spent the last week moving newly arrived M2i's and PSB sub around the basement trying to find the right placement for the room. Last time I had speakers good enough to be worth the effort was 10+ years ago... almost forgot how to do it.

It's always surprising how small a change it takes to make a huge difference. I was trying to keep the distance from ears to speakers less than the distance between speakers... finally moved the speakers a couple of feet further apart and the soundstage opened right up. Surprise surprise...

The last good speakers I had were Rogers LS3's with a passive subwoofer. It's hard to tell without A/B-ing but I think the M2i's are significantly better. They sound a bit thin without the sub but the bass is at least as good as the Rogers and the midrange seems a lot more clear. When the sub is switched on (PSB SubSonic 6i) and everything is tweaked properly the sound is incredibly smooth.

Are M22's really that much better than M2i's ? Right now it's hard to believe that there is much room for improvement. Toronto has a dedicated jazz station (Jazz-FM, natch) which I never listened to very often. With the new speakers the jazz just comes to life -- all the acoustic instruments seem to crawl out into the room.

Anyways, I couldn't be happier. I was debating between tower speakers and (bookshelf + subs) -- after a week of carrying the %^#$^$ subwoofer around I was really thinking that I should have started at M50 and worked my way up -- but now I have the placement worked out I'm in happy land.

Is anyone else running M2i's "because they sound so good" or are all the M2's being punted back to the 7.1 rear channels ? Just wondering...

John

I didn't punt my M3's to the back, I have 2 running as my center. If the M2's sound anything like the M3's, then they sound AWESOME! Now you have me curious on how much of a difference there would be between the M3's and the M2's? I had the M22's and I liked the M3's better.........a lot better. I don't like an in your face speaker which is what the M22 came across as to me. I like it a little more subtle and the M50's and the M3's are that in a nutshell.

One more thing, my M50's sounded way better after they broke in! lol (Just kidding)

I haven't had a chance to listen to M3's yet, but from other people's comments the M2s and M22s sound pretty similar. The M2i's are very much "in your face" speakers... I just happened to grow up with that sound so it really feels like "old home week" when I listen to them.

Do you have M50's as fronts ? The M50/M3 combo was the other one I was looking at -- I had never heard of Axiom before so figured going with M2s was a good way to dip my toe in the water. I imagine the M50's + M3's would be a fantastic combination.

Yeah right now I actual have M50's and Monitor Audio Silver 9i's as fronts and the M3's as the center. Long story as to why I have both but I'm trying to decide on which way to go.

>>Yeah right now I actual have M50's and Monitor Audio Silver 9i's as fronts and the M3's as the center. Long story as to why I have both but I'm trying to decide on which way to go.

M60s sound like the way to go

No, no, mustn't leave the M50 camp... precious M50s...

I've got a set of M22's as fronts and a set of M3's for zone 2.

I like the M3 sound quite a bit but the M22's are without question more detailed sounding to me (just to reinforce the popular notion of how the two Axiom speaker families sound). I'm real happy using the M3's for casual 2 channel stereo use rather than real critical listening or HT.

I think that a set of M50's will be in my future as a set of speakers for my office. To me a warmer sounding speaker is a little easier on the ears/brain when you've got other things to do than just sit in front of them and listen.

I have a pair of M2i's hooked up to my computer. I've found I get much more enjoyment out of them playing back mp3's at my desk and playing video games than I ever did using them as rear surrounds in a 7.1 system. To steal a line from Kellog's...There're GREAT!

Hello Bridgman,

Hope you are well. I have a pair of M2i's that I love as well. They are a damn fine speaker, and I think highly underated and underrepresented on these boards. They do need the subwoofer though, without one I would not recommend them.

Later,

TonyM

I plan to get two pairs of M2tis to use with my PC for gaming (probably by the end of the year). It's all a matter of finances and new job stuff.
I have the M22tis for mains for music/movies and love them. So, I am hoping to have some of the same for Doom3, SW:G, and HL2(when it comes out).
I have also promised my younger brother a pair of M2tis when he moves out and gets his own place....

>>I have a pair of M2i's hooked up to my computer.
>>I plan to get two pairs of M2tis to use with my PC for gaming

That's a great idea. I picked up a set of cheap 5.1 speakers last weekend for Doom3. Got home, carried the box down into the basement, looked at the M2s sitting on stands and thought "why am I doing this ?".

I installed the 5.1's anyways to get the positional audio from D3. I wasn't really all that impressed, although I guess I could spend a week moving THESE speakers around the room too to get the sound right

Based on my limited experience with an admittedly entry level set of speakers I think even a good stereo system would be better for D3 than spending the same money on cheaper 5.1 speakers.

Are you going to have a sub on the gaming system ? I haven't tried Doom3 without a sub but I think it would be even more important with D3 than on a music system.

Yes, I'll use a sub. I have the klipsch promedia 4.1. It pushes 50w at 4Ohms to each speaker and 200w to the sub. I tried using different speakers (old HTiB wharfdale speakers) to test it out and it works dandy. I'd rather go 5.1 but that would require more financial investment than I'd like (save that for the my HT or a new PC hardware).
So, once I get a new job (perm v contract) I'll be treating myself to a new pair of M2tis.

james

>> ...and 200w to the sub

Yes, that will do nicely

Enjoy !!

I also have the Klipsch 4.1 setup and I thought it was pretty damn good for gamming. Doom3 especially, this game is just way scarey when you got good sound and play it in a dark room.