Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M5HP vs. M60's

I've had several speakers over the years, and some, I've really enjoyed. (All Canadian!) But during these last 6 to 8 years, I've been using Axiom M60's and more recently, the M5's; the 60's (v4) really are excellent speakers, in my opinion. Of course, rooms matter. The only real difficulty I've had with the 60's has been the bass range, from roughly 200hz. on down because the room really is part of the equation at that point. While the 60's certainly have a full, rich, crystal-clear, wide-open sound, very large-scale and rewarding to listen to and very impressive if pushed, there can be issues with bass-loading in an average size room. (Mine is 13' x 17' x 8'.) Furnishings and 'treatments' can made a difference but overall, the basic sound of any speaker will pretty much be what it is. The M5's, on the other hand, I've found to be every bit as 'rewarding' to listen to, clean, clear and very, very "comfortable." I've gone days without even having paid any direct attention to the speakers themselves. Like a clean windshield on your car, it shouldn't distract or draw attention to itself; it's just something to look through to see (hear) what's out there. The M5 bass register extends about as low as the 60's but is much less 'difficult' to deal with in the room. (approx. 30hz. in my room) Fewer obnoxious peaks and annoying 'bassness' generally, but yet are full sounding and natural; in some ways, even more so that the 60's. Also, you can adjust the height by adjusting the stand height, unlike any tower speaker. As far as loudness, I've found that the 5's remain clean as far as I've ever pushed them. At times, they can benefit from a good sub, but only to extend what is already good bass extension. The 60's benefit in some respects, from the Audyssey (32) treatment, at least in the bass control, but they almost need that, plus the sub, to smooth out the overall presentation in the room, whereas the 5's really don't need / benefit from any such room "correction." I don't know why there's so very little exposure to the Axiom products on line, generally, and especially to the speakers. Surveys, discussions and commentary rarely, if ever, include any talk of normal, room speakers like the 60's or M5's. People don't know what they're missing. Without hyper-analyzing and nit-picking, just listening with an open mind (and ears) would probably amaze some people. I've been a professional musician all my life, (primarily classical, and almost always acoustic, "real" instruments, so I do know what "real" sounds like.) No speaker is perfect but some are certainly a lot more convincing than others. There's some talk on this Axiom Forum here, about the 5's and 60's and a number of other models, but for my money, I feel you really can't go wrong with either of these, given a normal room and application. Interested to see what others have to say.

So would you recommend Audyssey 32 for anyone with bass issues? And does it need multiple subs to work best?

I've only had boomy bass in a couple of different rooms, both in basements with concrete flooring and concrete or masonry walls. My current and last residences were wood platform frame construction, and that same tower loudspeaker sounded good in those spaces.

I'm content with my M5's, I found the neutral sound I was looking for and blends nicely with the decor.

I found that with the Axiom 60's and especially the M5's, that Audyssey (xt32) has very little effect on frequencies above 300hz or so, but with the 60's, does have a pretty profound effect on lower, bass frequencies. Since that's usually where most of the problems are, it can be pretty effective in smoothing out the overall system's response. This is assuming the use of a sub because the bass output of the 60's e.g., is considerable and depending on the room and where you're sitting, the bass can be perfectly fine or somewhat overpowering. Rolling off, in effect, of the 60's' bass range somewhat, helps to reduce the problem and lets the sub deal with that range, "corrected." (There is a newer version of Audyssey that allows you to 'correct' only those frequencies below a certain point, like say, 300hz. I don't have that program so I can't comment on it.) Also, if repositioning the speakers is possible, that can have some effect on bass output.


I've never been able to incorporate two subs in my system, in this room, though some claim it's the only way to go. For me, any bass issues only seemed to get worse, but your room / system could well be different. The bass output of the 5's is more balanced overall, again, for me in this room, and I agree with you that they have a neutral, balanced sound. And certainly, they look good!