Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler My review: QS4vsQS8 + M22vsM60 + STF-2vs16-46PCi

Thanks for taking the time to do the comparison, Dan. It's always nice hearing people's impressions of the differences between the speakers in the Axiom lineup.

Thanks for the review and I agree, when the time comes, go for the M80s. I came to pretty much the same conclusions between the M22 and M60 and ended up with the M80s a near perfect blend of the M22s mid and upper claritya nd the lower end of the M60s.

Now for some fun, hook up the M22s in parrallel wit the M60s(dubbed the M82) and you should find a new audio nirvana, at least I did until I thought about kids bumping the towering speaker setup and the M22 falling off the top of the M80. So I sent the M60s back for the M80s with no regrets.

Thanks, Dan. That was really useful.

One interesting question about the surrounds -- how did the levels you were testing at compare to the SPLs you normally get from the surrounds in a typical movie ? I'm wondering if the QS4s might turn out to be just fine as surrounds even though they couldn't handle the SPLs as mains ?

John, I'm using the QS4's as rear surrounds and are very happy with them, I'm sure they would do well as side surrounds also, being that the SPLs don't often get that high for surrounds.

I did that jason, it was great. The imaging was a little weird, but the audio quality was awesome, had both the qualities of them, I enjoyed listening to a few songs like that.



It really wasn't that loud...maybe 85 dB? It just sound strained compared to the QS8's...maybe not strained in general. They don't sound bad, I guess.

thanks for the reviews !!
I just cashed in my $40 gift certificate and traded in my qs4's for qs8's, then i strolled in hear to see what has been going on.

I'v listened to the speakers you reviewed, although not in an A/B setting, and agree with what you have said concerning m22/m60 and qs4/qs8. I also would say most of what you say concerning qs4/qs8 could also be said concerning vp100/vp150.

basically I had m22,vp100,qs4,ep175.
my brother bought m60,vp150.qs8,ep500
after listening to his system I have upgraded to vp150,ep500,and now qs8. I dont have any plans to upgrade m22 to m60(80) at this time.

the ep500 did a fabulous job filling out the m22's, much better than the ep175. yea there is a major price difference

the vp150 seems to have more authority than the vp100 it replaced. the dialog seems clearer.

I'm happy with my m22's. they will definitely show the difference in recording techniques. good recordings shine while poor recordings of music I always loved leave me short. I cant say what it takes to make a good recording, but i can hear the difference on my m22's.

overall you cant go wrong with axiom. my advice would be to get qs8 and vp 150, if at all possible they well worth the extra money over their little brothers. I've never heard the ep350, but can attest to my love for the ep500. yea it is expensive, but worth it. Dan did a great job on his m22/m60 comparison, and you cant go wrong either way. m22 with ep500 is great

the upgrade program worked good for me earlier this year, and I am giving it another whirl. thanks axiom

rperkins

I A/B'd the VP100 and VP150 and the differences are less than you make them out to be when directly compared, at least IMO.

They play at nearly the same SPL and sound nearly identical, with the edge going to the VP150 for a slightly lower FR range. I found the VP100 more desirable for smaller rooms as it played cleaner/clearer at lower volumes, while the VP150 sounded better at higher volumes needed for larger rooms. At this higher volume the 150 started to sound more like the 100.

This is a similar finding to my M60/M80 comparison, in that the M60, when played louder, sounded more like the M80, but the M80 just sounded the same at all volume levels. The M60s opened up and became more airy and detailed while the M80s sound that way all the time.

Thank You for the review, I found your information useful.

Thanks for the positive comments on the review! I really enjoyed doing it.

Dan, great job on the review - confirms what I have been suspecting for some time on the M22 vs the M60. I love the combination of clarity from the M22 and enhanced bass from the EP500.

My one suggestion on the Q4 and Q8 is to switch the soup cans from Chunky to a broth. You will get a clearer, more transparent sound, with much less muddiness...as if a veil was lifted over the speakers!