I recently purchased the M22, and to say the least am VERY impressed! I mulled over the decision (buying speakers "ear unheard") for months after first inquiring about the CT60 (and was recommended the M22 or M3- AMie your responsiveness was a large part of my decision!-my post is still on the board BUT a LONG way back!) Anyway, is there any "best range" of toe in or just general placement recommendations for the M22? I am not looking for an exact recommendation, just a general guideline for placement. Also, do you believe that the M22 (or any of your speakers) respond best with solid or stranded speaker cable (or any particular type)?

I recommend these speakers VERY highly to any potential consumers reading this post- Axiom speakers are the real deal. The price/performance ratio of the M22 is Astronomically high, as it is built MUCH better than comparable offerings from the most famous of the British, American, and Canadian speaker manufacturers. Kudos to Axiom for wanting their products to be accesible by ALL consumers interested in quality home audio- not just those with unlimited bank accounts!

Hi there --

Thanks for such an enthusiastic email! Great to hear!
Placement of speakers is totally room dependant. When we're testing new speakers at our house, we experiment with distance from the wall, toeing in, etc. I recommend listening to the same song over and over, trying each position until you get the best sound. You'll know it when you hear it]!

AS far as speaker cable is concerned, and at risk of upsetting other people in our industry, we don't find much difference among them. Frankly, as long as you have a 14 or 16 gauge cable, solid or stranded, that 's of reasonable quality, you 'll be fine. And that's our honest opinion!

Enjoy your speakers!

Amie

Edited by axiom on 09/20/01 08:35 AM.

Please take out the [censored] in this post

TX

Rather strange post- WHen I asked my question, I certainly didn't expect a fully censored answer!! J/K

It is rather hard to read and understand, and hopefully AMie or somebody else will rerespond. If you are looking at the M22, I think my post speaks for itself. However, I have seen that Goodsound (or SOundstage- not quite sure?) will be reviewing them November 1. I look forward to seeing it!

Amie's right, it is really room dependant.
In a perfect room, which nobody has, there should not be any toe in required because of their smooth off axis response. Walls, other than holding up the roof, are a bad thing :) Quite often in most rooms it's a trade off - great bass vs. depth of image.
First try them not toed in, on the same wall, facing your listening position, about six to eight feet apart (depending on how far back you sit) and give that a try. Ideally, with the side walls an equal distance from each speaker.
Sit in the sweet spot, listen to a good, stereo recording that you know well and try and gauge the following; is the vocalist dead centre?, are the highs sweet or edgy?, is the bass full and rich?, does the sound seem to come from beyond the speakers?
Those are the criteria I use to try and find the best spot.
You'll want the speakers as far enough apart that the vocalist is coming from dead centre but not too far which will create a hole or smear in the centre image.
If the highs seem a bit edgy, it can be reflections from the side walls causing phase distortions (reflected sounds arriving at your ears later than the original). Start toeing them in in small increments until the treble becomes smooth. Depending on the room, that can effect the bass too though.
Try bringing them out from the rear wall as much as is feasible and listen for when the sound starts coming from slightly behind the speakers to bring out the depth and transparency. Toe in or toe out will effect that too.
The key is to experiment as rooms are a variable that's hard to quantify. But that's all part of the fun though, eh?

Now I'm confused. I've been to many a high-end speaker shop drooling over many a high-end speaker and every salesman I've ever met has told me that a speaker is only as good as it's weakest link: usually the speaker wire. And yes, I am aware that they would love to sell me the more expensive wire to boost their commission.

Now you say that it doesn't really matter? I wasn't about to spend $100/ft on some wire but I was still surprised to read your comments. Anybody else out there feel the same way? Would Amie's comment still hold true for some of the so-expensive-it's-stupid speakers (such as JMLab Utopias)?

AMie thanks for uncensoring your post! I appreciate your honesty and your candor, and I will use your methods as well as Marc's methods to optimize my placement of the M22's. As for speaker cable- maybe you are on to something. Here is an experiment- go to Radio SHack and buy 1 or 2 spools of 18 guage solid core hook up wire. Twist 2 pairs of the cable toghether (mark your + and -, and twist the pairs together to form one neg, one pos per cable !!!), terminate them, and give it a listen. This cable is acutally a Stereophile recommended component!? and is DIRT Cheap. Try it vs.Monster cable. Hey it's only $3.99 a spool, so What have you got to lose! Again, thanks for your useful and frank advice- it is much appreciated.

BTW- if Marc in Ottawa is the Marc I think he is, many happy bag limits to you, sir :)

Thanks! You should've seen the muskie on Tuesday night!