Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Sound of M80s vs paired small speakers and subs

While I'm waiting for my M80's to arrive tomorrow I was wondering about a few things I've been reading about pairing subs with either M22's or M2's. Would the sound quality of M80's and a sub be any different than say a pair of M22's each sitting on an EP500? Is the tone of the bass from the M80's from say 80-40mhz range sound different or better than a sub in that same range?

The idea of getting two subs (in HGC of course) and a smaller speaker intrigues me as much as I love the look of floor standing speakers. Unfortunately (well not really) I'll have my M80's tomorrow so can't do anything about it now...I think...

Some have said that m22's paired with a good sub like the 350 or higher, can be very similar to M80's. I have both, but have never done a side/side comparison. The m80's put out some potent/tight bass which the m22's can't produce. Yes, the sub helps fill in the gap, but I think the m80's with a sub give you a much better output than m22's and a sub(s).

I am definitely happy with my 3 M22's for front and QS8's for surround. Since my room is very small they are more than enough for me. Although I really like the M22 I could say I love my QS8's. If it were possible I would even want a home theater with QS8's only. LOL Enjoy your speakers. Have fun!!

I have not heard M22s + sub so I can't comment on that. However what I can comment on is the crossover setting on the M80s. There is a significant difference in bass when crossing them at 80Hz vs 60Hz or 40Hz. Even though the sub handles the lower frequencies, the bass sounds different. I personally prefer them crossed at 60Hz and even 40Hz, specially for music. For me, the bass in the 40 to 80Hz range coming from the M80s has more punch/feel than the bass coming from the EP600. If M22s + sub sounds similar to M80s + sub,it would be when crossed at 80Hz or higher.

That's what I thought in regards to the type of bass from the M80's. WHen watching a movie my M60's are crossed at 60 and when listening to music they are crossed at 40. Too bad I can't even listen to my M80's when I get them tomorrow as I leave for vacation 2 days later.

Jay(jakewash) has compared the M22 + sub to the M80s(not sure with/without sub) so he could give you a reasonable account of the similarities/differences between the two. I know Alan has said several times they are very close, so close you'd likely have to AB them to differentiate the sublties.

Adrian/Alan is/are right, even A/B'd it is somewhat difficult to tell the difference. The only thing I key on is the mid/upper bass that tends to give away the M80s as the Sub/M22 combo doesn't have the same feeling. But this is really nit picking and also based on my experience with v2 not v3s so YMMV.

My experience with both the M22s and M2s paired with a sub compared to the M80s +sub are the same as Jakewash’s. I have found the biggest advantage in having the M80+sub combo is that in my present room I have a +10dB peak just above 20Hz and a -10dB null around 50Hz. So if I turn the sub up to feel the lower midbass punch around 50Hz the deep bass rumble at 20Hz is overpowering. Letting the M80s handle their own bass down to 40-50Hz lets me have more punch w/o to much rumble. Doesn’t help the LFE channel but it does improve the midbass on many sound tracts and even more music. Using “double bass” or “LFE + Mains” can even help smooth things out more by having multiple bass sources over part of the frequency range. Remember what I am talking about here is fairly room specific so it might not benefit everyone. Note that suggesting a lower crossover then 80Hz for any speaker or ever using something like “LFE + Mains” is considered a heresy here, so if you try it someone will come burn you at the stake.

I have mentioned this before, however, I have had the opportunity to try both in an HT application and for me, there was a noticeable difference between the M22s, used in an L/R and sub combo and the use of M60s(now M80s) and sub in the same configuration. It came in the form of power handling in that the M22s seemed to strain a little bit in the mid/low bass region at high volumes whereas the M60s/M80s handled sound in the same region without a hitch.

With music, it was less noticeable although realistically nothing can replace those extra drivers and substantially bigger cabinets of the floor-standers.

I've not directly compared (as in blind a/b switch) M80s with M22s+sub, but I did run some on wall M22s with my EP350 for a little while. It was nice to put the M80s back in and get back my midbass and fat lower end. Could have all be in in my head, of course, but I'd still rather have towers.


And a sub.