Has anyone compared any of the Axiom Tower speakers (such as the M60ti) with smaller satellite speakers and a sub woofer (such as the Axiom M2ti & a good sub)?

Which would sound the best in a large living center on either side of the fireplace??

I would be interested in hearing any opinions or experiences with the above.

There's a thread going on around here with just that comparison. Try doing a search... it should be near the top in Stereo, I think.

Right here, actually.

Jim, Ken beat me to the post but i will at least add that the M22s sound very close to the M60s when paired with a subwoofer.
The character sound is virtually identical and i highly recommend this route if tower speakers are not in the budget.

Hi Jim. I'm the guy with the M2s and M60s. First point, if you're anywhere near Toronto Canada you can just stop by and listen to them both.

Things to think about :

1. If your application is primarily music in a large room, I don't think you can do better than the M60s. Without a sub you will miss a couple of effects on songs like On The Run (Dark Side of the Moon) but for the actual "music" you won't miss a thing.

2. For Home Theater I guess the big question will be how loud you want to play things. The M2s will play quite loudly but you can definitely feel the point where they are getting out of their depth. I thought the (m2+sub) combination was ideal in a smaller room but in my 13x23 basement they were perfect for "comfortable" listening levels but there were some cases where I would have liked to be able to turn the volume up higher than the M2s were happy with. Not sure if I was hitting the amp limits (you have to turn the volume up higher with M2s) or the speaker limits, trying to borrow a bigger amp and will let you know.

3. The M60s are bigger than you might think, at least when viewed from the side (they're really deep). If you are "approaching from the front" they appear small and tasteful; if you walk into the room and approach the speakers from the side (ie if your door is on the side of the room near the front) the speakers really do look "big".

Bottom line, I think, is how loud you want to play. For a smaller room or moderate listening levels the M2+sub combination is fantastic. If you want higher volumes in a large room you probably need larger speakers and the M60s are hard to beat.

Things to consider :

- M22 + sub probably splits the difference, might be a good answer

- don't know if "volume limits" in my room are because the amp is only ~65w/channel (HK3270), need to find out

- if your listening is primarily music I would just go with M60s -- the "sub/no sub" dilemma is primarily an issue for movie effects on DVD

Hope this helps.

JB

One more twist to consider...

After a few more days of A/B'ing on a broader range of music I have to admit that the M60s really do sound better with a sub on some music. I was thinking along the same lines as you -- M2+sub or M60 -- but am now getting more comfortable with the idea that I'm gonna have to have a sub ANYWAYS to get the last few % of music enjoyment.

If you give in to the dark side ("dude, you're getting a sub") everything else becomes easier. I'm starting to think that the best answer to "which is better, M2+sub or M60s" just might be "M22+sub" as chesseroo said.

I'm tempted to try M22+sub myself if Axiom will humour me. In hindsight, M22+sub was probably the right choice for my immediate needs and budget.

I've experimented a lot with switching my receiver back and forth from "direct stereo" (only M60's) to "straight" (M60's and my SVS sub) while listening to music, and I'm always impressed by how capable the M60's are all by themselves. Sure, there's a bit more low bass with the sub, but for stereo music I don't think I'd feel at all deprived running M60's without a sub.

For DVD movies, though, the sub is essential for those low effects.

Haven't heard the M2's, so I can't say what they'd be like with a sub.

I just re-read my post and I don't think I typed what I was trying to say. For 99% of music on M60s you will never miss the sub. There are a few tracks like On The Run (Pink Floyd) where there are LF effects more like what you would expect in a movie -- no surprise there. Didn't notice a need for a sub on any other Floyd tracks, but oddly enough there were some things going on in the low bass on Supertramp tracks where having the sub did seem to make a tiny difference.

Overall, though, I am in complete agreement with Denver... for music M60s on their own are perfectly fine. I was surprised to find even a few cases where the sub made a difference and tried to report them for "completeness"

JB