Hi, was looking at starting to put my home theatre together and love the look of the in wall Axiom speakers. Would I gain much from using the W22s(M22s) instead of the W3s (M3s)? The W3s have a bigger woofer. I was planning on going the W150 as the centre. The room is 13.4 feet x 15.7 feet.
Asha, both the W3 and W22 are fantastic speakers and you really can't go wrong with either. The primary difference you'd hear between the two of them if you were fortunate enough to hear them side by side is that the W3 plays a little 'fatter' in the bass range. Both speakers play from about 60 Hz – 22 kHz, ± 3dB.
It's funny how many on this board have the M22's, and how few seem to have M3's. You would think there would be more balance, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Maybe M3 owners just don't post.
Asha, welcome. I've been greatly enjoying music through my M22s for over seven years now and suggest that you'd experience the same with the W22s. Your mention of the bigger woofer on the W3 implies that you may think that this leads to better bass, but this isn't the case. The two woofers on the W22 have a greater combined surface area than the one W3 woofer and other factors being equal this would give the W22s an edge in the bass. A study of the NRC impedance graphs on SoundStage indicate that the M22 enclosure is tuned about 5Hz lower than the M3, allowing for slightly lower bass extension.
Makes sense. 2 + 2 = 4... and 4 > 3!
I love my M22's although I am considering upgrading now to the floor standing M60. I think that the M22 will give you a more uniformed look since you are getting the W150 center. I have never heard teh M3 but as previous posters have said you would be happy with both.
The M3's put out some mighty powerful sound for a bookshelf speaker IMO (W3 is the onwall version of the M3). I find them very satisfying. They sound great at high volumes. I had them really cranked the other day with a listening distance of 20 feet. If I didn't know any better I thought I was listening to a floorstanding speaker.