is it worth it to upgrade to the axiom m40ti from m22? (1 Viewer)

[KonradN]

I have the m22 right now and I am thinking about upgrading to the m40 for the following reasons:

-can't find an aethetically pleasing stand in my price range (less than 50) for the m22ti and the price of stands puts the m22 in the same range as the m40

-sometimes I like to listen to my music without a sub and would like more bass and slam from my mains. How much more bass will i get from the m40 compared to the m22?

Here is the problem though. I can still return my m22ti but would have to pay return shipping (42 is the lowest quote I got so far). It may be cheaper for me to just sell them to somebody in the U.S especially if they live close to me and thats why I already posted them up on the for sale forum. If somebody buys them from for my asking price it will make my decision so much easier but if not then I have to decide whether to keep the m22 or bite the return shipping cost to upgrade to the m40.

 

[Steve WC]

Konrad,

The SS16 stands at Axiom are $79.00 for the pair. You are willing to spend perhaps $42.00 to ship your speakers back. You have a $50.00 budget for stands. Seems to me you could afford these stands, and they were made for the M22. I have copied some responses from Axiom web site concerning this matter:

Outside of the lower bass response from the M40s the

differences are pretty subtle between these models in regards to the performance. If you have a large space and lots of power you may want to think about the M50s as a possible option also.

Ian Colquhoun

President & Chief Engineer

Post Extras:

Anonymous

(Unregistered)

04/01/02 12:35 AM

Re: have the m22 but wondering about m40... [re:

Anonymous]Reply

i have personally heard just about everything that axiom has to offer and i would say if you watch a lot of dvds/movies i would personally say to stick with the m22's,the m40's would be a waste of money.i truly believe they are superior{personal pref only}

You may get a somewhat better bass response from the M40 but I don't think you will get enough for bass "slam".

Steve

 

[DougO]

I'd keep the M22s.

 

[eric_kl]

KonradN
Could you please give your assessment of the M22s? From the "professional" reviews that I have read, the M22s have better midrange and upper bass than the M40s. The review state that upper bass is overly pronounced and can cause male voices to sound chesty and overly resonant on the M40s. See the review here http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/a...enniam40ti.htm[/url]

 

[Rich Malloy]

Konrad, you took the words right outta my mouth (in fact, I've asked the same question here before). Unfortunately, I've yet to hear from anyone who's compared both, and the review Eric linked to only compares them to the M3s (though much can be extrapolated from that).

I am literally credit card in hand for this purchase, but I'm stuck on the same damn issue as you. I want the bass (I run my 2-channel sources in a full bypass... no digital circuitry, no bass management, just preamp + volume control), but I'm willing to give up a bit down low from the M40 if the mids and uppers are clearly superior on the M22. If it's a close call there, even if it favors the M22 slightly, then I'd probably go with the extra bass extension from the M40s.

BTW, Sanus makes some nice stands in that price range you may wanna consider for the M22s. BTW, what finish did you get and do you like it? I'm very tempted by the maple, but my wife prefers the cherry...

 

[Ron Reda]

Go with some M50s!!!
I certainly enjoy my M50s for movies, but since I've added some new components to my system, I've been listening to a lot more music. That's where I feel the towers have the advantage. Don't get me wrong, I've read some really good things about the M22s and how fast and detailed they are, but I like running my 2-channel stuff without a sub and you're just not going to get that amount of bass from the M22s. Plus, the M50s have built-in stands!
Seriously though, that's a tough decision. I think I'd probably stick with the M22s. They're a dynamite little speaker.

 

[KonradN]

i don't have the m40 or m50 to compare right now but from my research the m22 should have better midrange clarity than the m40 or m50; however, even axiom's president noted that the difference is very subtle whereas the bass extension and output is a night and day difference. My impression is that you would have to a/b the m22 and m40 and then listen critically to some specific material to notice a slight difference.

anyways I'm going for the m40 or m50 for sure as long as i can return or sell my m22ti at a minimal loss.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Go with some M50s!!!

I was really thinking (just by viewing the specs) that there wouldn't be a significant upgrade over the M40 or M22 until you hit the M60... which is more than I was hoping to spend.
But, given some very positive feedback on the M50s, I can probably justify the extra expenditure!
I just keep thinking that I won't be satisfied with the bass response of the M22, thus forcing me to mate them with a sub for 2-channel sources. I have a very definite and pronounced preference for the sound of my Outlaw in "direct" mode (which means no bass management and thus no sub integration). Blind A-B'ing (with wife's help!) confirms this again and again, without exception. Thus, I'd really like to be able to go sub-less for 2-channel sources.
I guess my question should go the M22 owners: are you satisfied with the bass output sans sub? Or do you all mate the M22s with a sub for your 2-channel sources?

 

[DougO]

M22s with a sub for 2-channel -- I like the deep stuff. I'm going M22s all around (even center) for 6.1. Stay tuned. Next up, the killer low end upgrade, hmmm....

 

[Tim Ebling]

I thought I'd jump in to add my take on stands for the M22's. I just recently bought Plateau H-23 stands for mine, and they suit my needs very well. The suggested Axiom stand is too short, as it would put the tweeter well below ear level, so I had to go with something taller, in the 22-24" range. The Plateau's are priced right, solidly built, and match the looks of the black M22's quite nicely IMO.
A couple of pictures:
http://home.attbi.com/~susantim/M22_1.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~susantim/M22_2.jpg
Oh, and I love my M22's!

 

[Matt Stone]

It seems that few of us have compared the M22s directly to the M40s...and I'm no different.
I was in this same predicament 3 weeks ago and I decided that better bass extension was more important to me, so I opted for the M40s. I'm extrememly happy with them...they completely blow away my old tiny Energy Take 2s. Once again, I can't really compare them to the M22s, but I'm happy with the purchase that I made.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Tim, great shots - thanks!

I must have a very short couch because 16-18" stands are what I need to put the tweeters at ear level (the M22s are 19" tall, with the middle of the tweeter looking to be about 16-17").

So, it seems that no one's running their M22s without a sub for music/2-channel? Does anyone think the bass output of the M22 is sufficient for most music?

Matt, thanks for your brief review! I guess it's all a trade-off: M40s better bass/M22s better mids. I just don't know how to make that call (short of setting up both speakers in my house and A-B'ing them all weekend!). Did you happen to listen to an M50 (or has anyone compared the M50 to the M40)?

 

[Dan_Jones]

I personally own the M50s and M3s. From what I've read and heard the M40 is essentially an M3 in a larger cabinet giving it deeper base excursion. I went with the M50 to give me a bit more bass output down low with its dual woofers. I used the M50s without a sub for while as I was waiting on mine to arrive and I must say they kicked out a great deal of bass, easily shaking the floor in some of the great demo scenes we're all used to (in this case the ending of Fight Club).

Compared to my M3s I feel the M50 is obviously a more robust speaker due to its fuller range; but I don't think the M50 loses any midrange or higher frequency clarity to its sibling, to my ears it just adds lower bass.

Soo, IMHO I'd splurge for the M50s or even the M60s (as they M60s are a 3-way design, versus the M40 and M50 2-way design). I'm thinking of a setup for my parents and would probably end up going with 2 M60Ti's, a VP150 and 2 M22Ti's.

Either way the Axiom's are a great value for the price. You won't be dissapointed.

 

[Rich Malloy]

I'm wondering what you folks are powering your Axioms with?

I read a comment on another forum suggesting that the titanium tweeters on the M22 were a tad too bright when paired with the Outlaw 1050, and so of course I was immediately concerned about compatibility.

And since I'm kinda torn between the Axioms and the Divas (silk dome tweets), I'm wondering if there's any consensus here...

 

[Tim Ebling]

Rich, I'm currently powering my M22's and VP150 with a Yamaha HTR-5420 receiver which puts out around 70W/ch. Unfortunately this is really not enough juice to do these speakers justice (especially since I have to put the receiver into low impedance mode to accomodate the VP150), and when listening to high dynamic range content at good volumes (e.g. DVDs), the amp goes into clipping for brief periods. Not an ideal setup to say the least.

I want to buy one high quality amp for my HT and be done with it, so I currently have my eye on the Parasound HTA-1205A, which is 5 channel, 140W/ch and should be more than sufficient for the Axioms.

 

[Dan_Jones]

I'm powering my M50/M3/VP100 with a Onkyo 595 and am perfectly happy with the levels I can reach in my relativly small room, and to my ears the sound is not fatiguing at all. If I had more money (which I don't), I probably would have tried to go seperates (perhaps Outlaw 950/770) or perhaps a higher Onkyo, but for my current needs it drives the Axiom's just fine.

 

[Ron Reda]

I personally feel that the M50s love the extra power that only a separate amp can provide. They seem to come alive when I crank up the volume. I am currently powering my M50s with a stereo Odyssey Stratos (150W x 2) running out from a Denon 3802. The pairing of the Axioms with the Stratos sounds damn good to me (much to the chagrin of my neighbors )!