Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners M50v4 vs M3v4

I'll also add the sound quality is similar to the M3 and that's a good thing. Of course not as high fidelity as the M5.

The ebony is lighter than I expected. It is not as black as the black oak. It's almost like a light black or dark grey. As my friend put it, the ebony is a more modern look but she surprisingly prefers the more textured look of the black oak. It's worth repeating this is a nicer black oak than v2. It is darker and has more relief.

Here's an update after listening to the M3s and M50s - both v4.

The short of it is if you want a relaxed sound and have room for the M50, go M50 instead of M3. There just is no comparison.

I had three buddies over this afternoon, one lady and two guys. All of them, without hesitation, said things like the M3 sounds congested, not as defined, not as open, not as dynamic as the M50. I whole-heartedly agree. You don't have to listen very long to each to come to that conclusion.

They all liked the two different finishes and agreed it's really a matter of individual taste.

The M50s are a great Rock speaker. They go loud and clean with no sub needed. I was just listening to Metallica and Nazareth hitting 102 dB peaks at 11 feet away. It was very satisfying and I didn't feel like anything was missing.

Fair warning though that if you plan on listening to stuff like Bass Mekanik, you won't be able to go clean above 90dB peak at 11 feet away. Those 6.5" non-HP drivers do have their limits.

In my living room, the humble Pioneer is more than enough with these highly sensitive M50s. I may hook up the ADA-1000 to them to push them more. The 1000 is a good match for the specified peak power (400W) of the M50.

It's very interesting how I've had bass "problems" with the M3 and the M5 in my living room, having to attenuate both by 10dB at 100Hz, but I do not have that problem with the M50. My suspicion that this was caused by the bass hump found in the M3 and M5 appears to be correct.

I also found the highs to be too much in my living room with the M5s. The M3s fixed that and so do the M50s.

It's an easy-to-drive, easy-to-listen-to speaker that reaches high SPLs cleanly with no need for a sub. The M50s are another one of those Axiom secrets few know about.

Oh YEAHHHHHH!!!! That ADA-1000 has TOTALLY opened those puppies up! LOL!

A notebook 11 feet away is flapping from the front port wind. LOL!

It also appears the distortion I heard earlier was my Pioneer because I no longer hear it with the ADA-1000. I guess the Pioneer was just crying uncle.

I'm gonna nail these M50s and an ADA-1500 to my deck. My neighbors need to party hardy!

There ought to be some kind of Full Plastic Bracket to help with that.

I had the same experience when I inserted an Adcom ~250WPC amp between my HK 3270 receiver and M60ti's. It was like listening to completely different speakers at medium to high volumes.

I was surprised, although I should have known better than that.

Note to self... you have an ADA1500-4 that you won't be trading in as part of the upgrade to active LFR1100's... open the damn thing up and get it working.

I had to stop and think why the Pioneer shut down with the M5s before I could hear any distortion as opposed to the M50 where distortion is evident and it doesn't shut down. The protection in the Pioneer must be current-sensing. The M5 needs a lot of current compared to the M50. The protection kicks in as the current rises before distortion sets in. The M50 on the other hand needs less current as the volume is turned up. However, as the volume is turned up, the Pioneer gets into its non-linear operating zone causing distortion.

One of the things I like about the ADA is its protection philosophy. It will self-protect before you hear any distortion. When it self-protects, you know you need to change something in your set-up.

I would absolutely not hesitate to recommend the M50v4 to anyone for home theatre or 2.0. They are so easy to drive and listen to. The ADA-1000 drives them clean and loud!

If you want them to be really clean and loud down low, cross them over at 80Hz to a sub.

Of course you can get M5s but to drive them as loud as the M50s, you need an ADA-1500. If you're in a live room with hardwood like mine, the M50 will be more to your liking.

The standard ebony finish has really grown on me. It looks like bead-blasted aluminum.

So far there hasn't been a single v4 I haven't liked. Maybe I'll change my mind about the M22 when I listen to a v4.

As I sit here, sipping my glass of Monasterio de las Vinas Riserva, admiring the ebony finish on my M50s while listening to Blueberry Hill by The Dukes of Dixieland, I can't help but wonder what they would sound like with an HP driver and a mid-woofer in place of the twin woofers. They'd likely sound like the M5 with cleaner reach somewhere close to the M60. But they wouldn't be as sensitive as the M50 or M60 and likely the same price as the M60.