I am wondering if these sound the same. I thought that I heard the 50s were laid back. for what that means, I dont know. I have m22s and a vp100 now. I am thinking the 22s in my new room are going to be a little undersized(2100cf) I was thinking m80s but thought that would be a little too much. Wondering if you guys could assist in the comparison. Thanks,Blake
Ohh, I plan on doing a head to head vs the ascend 340s. I have heard nothing but good about these and what the heck I only have to pay return shipping.

If you like the sound of the M22s but just want "more sound" most people would recommend the M60s over the M50s.

There are sort-of two families in the Axiom lineup -- the M2 / M22 / M60 / M80 family using 5-1/2" drivers to cover the midrange, and the M3 / M40 / M50 family which use a 6-1/2" driver to cover the mids.

Don't know if you can say that one family sounds "better" than the other, but from reading the reviews and looking at the frequency response charts the M3/40/50 tend to be a bit higher in the midbass (100 hz) and a bit lower in the midrange (2000 hz) than the M2/22/60/80.

Only talking small differences here but enough that people who compare the speakers side-by-side do comment on the differences. What kind of music do you listen to ? If I had to REALLY generalize I would say people seem to like M3 / M40 / M50 better if they listen to a lot of kick-ass rock, and like M2 / M22 / M60 / M80 better if there is also a lot of classical or progressive rock in their library. Jazz seems to sound great on both.

Here's a link to a comparison between M22 and M50. You won't be too far wrong if you think of the M60s having all of the "big open sound" advantages of the M50 with the characteristic sound of the M22 and probably even better deep bass.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=ST&Number=47919&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1

I have not seen a comparison between M50 and M60 yet.

Bottom line, I think, is that if you are happy with the M22 sound and would like the same sound but "bigger" (more open, deeper bass) go with the 60s -- if you find the M22s too bright or too forward then you'll probably prefer the M50s.

Again, as I understand it the differences are not all that large.

I would have to say the M80s make a fine kick ass Rock speaker.In my opinion if a speaker is good it's just good no matter what style of music you put through it.

>>I would have to say the M80s make a fine kick ass Rock speaker

Absolutely... Like you, I prefer the M2 / 22 / 60 / 80 sound.
I found a comment from Alan in a post earlier this year which might help the M50 vs. M60 question...

>>The M60s have ever so slightly less output in the midrange and highs than the M80s, but overall they are extremely similar in tonal balance. Not so the M50s, which are quite a bit softer sounding and less detailed in the mids and highs. The M40s are even more laid-back than the M50s in this respect.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=HT&Number=43673&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1

... and one of my first threads where a bunch of nice people jumped in with advice and comments about the different speakers and their sounds :

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=ST&Number=60501&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1

Found it !!

>>Well folks, for those of you that are interested (in one man's opinion), in a comparison "review", I currently have a pair of M50s and M60s sitting side by side in my living room HT/stereo setup. I promised to write my impressions of them and I am still comparing the two - but not for long - as one pair HAS to go back. (sorry Ian)

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Advice&Number=2774&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1

Hope this helps. If you don't want to read all this stuff, just go with the M60s and you'll be very happy

John,

I certainly wasn't disagreeing with you on the different sounds of the 2 families of Axiom speakers I believe you were dead on with your discription.Its just I think if a speaker reproduces music well it does it well with all types of music.

This is what Alan said about the 2 families in a e-mail to me just a few months ago.

"All Axiom speakers now use identical tweeters, a 1-inch titanium dome
with a 1-inch voice coil.

But in 2-way speakers like the M3ti and M22ti, the woofer also carries
a good portion of the midrange content. The M22ti and M2i use a
different woofer (the 5.25-inch, two of them), whereas the M3ti has a 6.5-inch
woofer as well as a different crossover frequency. So the crossover is
different, and the 6.5-inch woofer rolls off faster (it doesn't have as
much midrange output as the 5.25-inch drivers in the M22ti and M2i).

Subjectively, it's the slight depression in output in the 500 Hz to
2kHz region that makes the M3ti sound a little more recessed and
laid-back. That's why the other 2-way Axioms (M40 and M50) have the same
"family" tonal balance. Likewise the M2, M22, M60 and M80 have very similar
clarity and detail because they use identical 5.25-inch midrange drivers."

Hope this helps.

This sounds pretty much as you had said........good job

I remember a thread not too long ago where someone had both M50 and M60's, auditioned them both for a while, and sent the 60's back. It was a pretty informative string. You might want to spend some time using the search function.

Good point. That was NeverHappy's post, I think...