Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Axiom Audio M60ti Speakers by spiffnme

Model:	M60ti
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$800.00
Description:	Tower Speaker
Manufacturer URL:	Axiom Audio
Manufacturer URL:	Axiom Audio

Review by spiffnme ( A ) on October 28, 2003 at 16:06:20
IP Address: 12.44.127.68

Add Your Review
for the M60ti

In the past 6 months I've been upgrading my entire system. In my quest for the perfect speakers, I've demo'd dozens, and actually bought 3 different pair. I've finally found my speakers. The Axiom Audio M60ti.
Clarity, Detail, and Soundstage are the three defining characteristics of these speakers. I've not heard a clearer speaker. Every tiny nuance of a recording can be heard through these. It's quite amazing.
I began my speaker quest with a purchase of the beautiful Energy C3 bookshelf speakers. I listened to them several times in my local shops and paired with a subwoofer, they were simply the best thing I'd heard. I'd also read rave reviews about the Axiom M22ti, so I also bought a pair of them, so I could do my own side-by-side listening tests in my own home. I fully expected to be sending the M22's back. Boy was I surprised! Those little M22's ran circles around the Energy's! So much more detail and clarity - I was shocked! To be fair, the C3's did look much nicer, and certainly had more depth on their own, but paired with a subwoofer, that extra depth meant little, and the Axioms clarity really shown through. Score one for Axiom. The C3's went back.
So at this point I thought I had my speakers. But silly me, I kept listening to more and more. I then fell in love with the Energy Veritas 2.2's. It honestly was the first speaker I listened to that could outdo my little $400 M22ti's. I had to own them. But they were $1500! With the advent of the new "Veritas i" series, Energy dealers were blowing out their old Veritas product. I grabbed a pair for $700! Brought them home and was in love. But being the loyal guy that I am (and the fact that I already owned the Axiom VP150 center channel) I thought I should give Axiom one last chance before finally settling on those wonderful Veritas. I got a pair of M60ti's in my home, and spent a week listening to both the Veritas 2.2's and the Axiom M60's. What a fun week that was!
In the end as you know I ordered a pair of Axiom M60ti's for myself and once again returned the Energy's.
It was not an easy decision. Both speakers had their pros and cons. IMHO, here are those pros and cons.
Bass - Not much of a contest here. In the lower levels, the M60's just kicked the Veritas butts. But it's to be expected. The M60's are large floorstanders and the Veritas are bookshelves.
Upper-Bass - This is more tricky. I've always found bookshelf speakers to be much more clear with better separation in the upper-bass region than floorstanders. I asked Alan about this issue with floorstanders and he suggested that it was mostly due to the fact that floorstanders are going to be reacting to the floor itself where as bookshelf speakers do not. So, being the nutty guy that I am, I thought to myself "Why not put the M60's on stands?"...so I did. And you know what? It worked! The upper-bass cleared up quite a bit. The lower end suffered a bit, but I preferred the clarity and separation I gained. So with the M60's off the floor, I found they were pretty much even with the Veritas in this range.
Midrange - Here's where I have to give the edge to the Veritas. Vocals, and horns were richer and smoother with the Veritas. I found horns had more resonance, they felt just a tad more real. Vocals were smoother. In comparision, vocals on the M60's sounded a bit thin and slightly harsh. Nothing offensive, but in comparison to the Veritas they just weren't as nice. Horns on the M60's held up a bit better, but lacked that extra richness that the Veritas gave them.
Highs - M60ti is the hands down winner here as well. The Axioms had far more detail and separation in this area. One particular thing that really made me smile was a disc of Chinese drums. (you know those giant drums!) Upon impact you could hear the mallet strike the drum, not just the resulting boom. It sounded so incredibly real. The Veritas lacked that initial strike.
Soundstage - Another win for the M60's. I think this is where having the Radio Shack switcher helped a lot. Upon immediately switching you could hear the sound just "open up". The Veritas sounded compressed and "closed in" in comparision.
Look - Looks are completely subjective. I'm not the hugest fan of Axiom's look. Though the Veritas aren't the best looking speaker either. I feel both are rather bland. I'd score them equally on looks.
Build - As nicely as the Axioms are built, the Veritas are even better. Large, very solid binding posts - slightly offset from eachother to make connections easier. The speakers themselves are solid as tanks.
Overall - Though I hate giving up that wonderful richness in vocals that I could have gotten from the Veritas, all of the other benefits of the M60's simply outweigh that. As I said above, though they aren't as rich (vocals) the M60's are certainly not offensive. I also don't like the idea that Energy has set the MSRP on the Veritas at $1500 - and yet when it's time to unload the Veritas to make room for their new "I" series, they can sell them for $749. That just tells me that the original markup is simply gouging the consumer. The Veritas are an incredible speaker, but NOT a $1500 speaker. The excessive markup of the Energy's (although I personally didn't pay it) also contributed to my decision to stick with Axiom. I prefer to support a company that has a more consumer friendly business plan.

Product Weakness: vinyl finish (though good)
Product Strengths: Clarity, detail, price

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Rotel RB-1070
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Rotel RSP-1066
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Pioneer 656A
Speakers:	Axiom M60ti
Cables/Interconnects:	Monster Z2 reference
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Various
Room Size (LxWxH):	27 x 19 x 9
Time Period/Length of Audition:	4 months +
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	vinyl finish (though good)
Product Strengths:	Clarity, detail, price