Hello,

After reading so much about how some people think Axioms are too "bright", I feel compelled to pitch in with my very limited experience.

I have my main living room system consisting of (for stereo listening) Mythos 6's and a SuperCube II. Small drivers (3.5") but very nice sound, very happy with it.

Anyways, I just bought M2's for the bathroom (my wife listens to music in the morning while getting ready), and before installing them briefly put them beside the Mythos speakers for an A/B comparison (including the SuperCube to provide bottom end).

Before beginning I did all the obvious things, like turning off the surround processing and auto-calibration on my receiver.

Here goes:

Andrea Bocelli, "Romanza": Initially, I preferred the Mythos, as they sounded much more up front, but then I realized it was overdone; at certain points he sounded like he was way too close to the microphone. After a while, I definitely preferred M2's, as they simply sounded more natural. And given the price difference, that's very impressive indeed!

However.....when I put in Anna Netrebko's SACD singing Dvorak's "Rusalka", M2's - sorry to say - sucked. Mythos made her voice soar, quite literally. On M2's she sounded like she was singing from a draped (and nailed!) coffin, her voice was completely drowned out by the orchestral score. Again that treble difference, but on this recording it was much more pronounced.

Several other recordings demonstrated the same treble difference to varying degrees, but always Mythos very upfront and M2's laid back.

I wouldn't write this if I didn't hear of Axiom's reputation (according to some) for making "bright" speakers, considering how much opposite my experience has been.

So question for the owners and the Axiom guys: does anyone else think M2's are very laid back? does treble develop following initial break-in? Why would this be happenning? Or am I being too critical in expecting for M2 to perform the same as the speakers that cost more than three times as much, and should I just shut up, the ungrateful cur that I am?

Anyways, it's a nice little speaker, and I'm not returning them. They'll do very nicely for my purposes.

Thanks to all,

BB

Not sure what to say, but I have never heard the M2s described as laid back. I have a pair that I used to use as computer speakers and they were quite forward. They are also the only Axioms that I would describe as "bright". I would actually turn the treble down on the Rx to tame the highs.

Dear Mr. Cur

I think it's great that you took the time to post your comparison.

How was the positioning of the speakers? That can make a big difference.

It's great that you enjoy the Mythos! I've never heard them, but based on your review, I would like to.

I've only listened to my M2s two channel once at my brother's. We listened to some Bob Marley and a couple of african performers he is really into.

They seemed fine to me except an understandable lack of bass compared to what I am used to with the 80s.

The bright reputation is a myth spread by people who have not listened to the speakers.

Its funny, but a couple of the speakers a few people at audioholics really like and recommend were recently reviewed there and described as bright.

Now, none of the folks that recommend either speaker ever describes them as bright yet some of those same peaple slam anything axiom as being bright. Go figure.

Oh %^&*, not another Axiom speakers are bright thread, arrrrrg.

BB, welcome. I'm not familiar with the Mythos 6s, but unless they have a very elevated treble response, the M2s shouldn't fit that comparative description if they're operating correctly. The NRC graphs show a very flat response above the low bass. Have you checked closely to make sure that one M2 tweeter isn't inoperative? Do the two M2s match each other tonally?

By the way; certainly approve of your choice of morning music!

Hi BB,

Thanks for your comments. The M2v2 is certainly not "laid-back" nor is it forward. It IS very neutral and revealing of the original source material's recording quality.

I don't know the Mythos speaker, however, I was just about to post on the thread of "What's New at Axiom" a stunning new review of the Axiom M2v2 that's just been published at EnjoytheMusic.com Here is the link:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0509/aperion_intimus_5b_axiom_m2v2_paradigm_v6.htm
The review is well-written and an enjoyable read. Clarke Robinson, the reviewer, came to realize just how neutral the M2v2 is after some listening. He compared it to two other mini-monitors from Paradigm and Aperion.

I don't know that particular SACD; so long as both of your M2's drivers are all operating OK, I'd say that your M2's revealed the veiled quality of the Netrebko recording, and that perhaps your Mythos speakers have a very forward peak in the midrange/upper midrange that compensates for the dull vocal recording on the SACD.

In terms of Axiom's other speakers, the only two models that I'd describe as slightly laid-back or a bit less detailed are the M3s and M50s, but that is only noticeable in immediate blind A/B comparisons and it's extremely subtle.

Regards,

Alan

Nice review! Its always interesting to see how others describe a speaker you have heard.

Thanks to everyone, and especially thanks to Alan for taking the time to answer. It is quite possible that Mythos have an exaggerated midrange and upper midrange. I'm not sure if I'll ever figure out what the problem is, but it's not an issue for most of the recordings and therefore I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

You guys make excellent speakers, and thanks again to everyone for their feedback.

You should hear the m60's or m80's.

Just to let you guys know, I listened to a lot of vocal recordings on M2's, including the Queen, Fugees, Diego de Cigala (Bebo & Cigala, look it up if you haven't heard, it'll blow you away), plus some piano and classical guitar recordings.

In summary, M2's are far more balanced tonally than Mythos! More natural. In direct comparison Mythos exaggerates treble, it's too forward, although some people may prefer that.

Well, I hope that helps any people in the future searching for "Mythos" on these forums.

In all honesty to DefTech, Mythos are excellent speakers, and have a far greater WAF than Axiom, or any other speaker brand for that matter. So you most definitely won't be disappointed with Mythos, but if you're OK with Axiom you'll get more balanced speakers for much less dough.

That's it! Signing off...

asta la vista bbudaaby

Definitely not jealous of people who need to be concerned with the WAF.