Axiom M3 Bookshelf Speakers

 

We've always been impressed by Axiom Audio's products, but the company's M3 bookshelf speakers prove to be even better than we expected. The performance left us speechless, and that is a bad thing for a reviewer. Nevertheless, we will struggle to describe how impressed we are with the M3's.

The M3 speakers are a perfect mix of high build quality, excellent performance and affordable pricing. This is made possible in part by Axiom's long-term involvement in audio research at Canada's National Research Center and the company's business plan of selling directly to the public via the internet.

The quality construction and unique shape (more about that later) combine to make the M3 a great-looking speaker. Our review pair came in black oak with black grilles, but they are also available in Boston cherry, Mansfield beech and light maple finishes, with gold or tan grilles. If these choices do not suit your fancy, for an additional charge, you can order from Axiom's custom shop and select from eight wood veneers, six stains and six grill colors.

These are two-way reflex speakers with vortex porting enclosures, which reduce distortion. The seamless eight-side, wedge-shape Anti Standing Wave cabinet design is tapered from front to back, giving it a unique look that also plays an integral part in the amazing performance. Each M3 cabinet houses a 6-1/2-inch aluminum woofer and a 1-inch titanium tweeter.

The M3 speakers can handle a maximum of 175 watts of audio power, but they only require 10 watts to get going. Five-way gold-plated binding posts accept banana plugs, pins, bare-wire connections and spade lugs. If your space limitations require you to wall-mount your speakers, the M3's come equipped with a fitting that accepts Axiom's Full Metal Bracket ($40 each).

As good as the M3 speakers look, they sound even better. These bookshelf models produced an amazing combination of excellent imaging and a wide soundstage, on a level you would expect from models costing twice as much. Although we began our listening test by running through the usual musical routine, we soon found ourselves madly rifling through our library, attempting to find any material that would expose a weakness. To our delight, every time we thought of something these relatively small bookshelf speakers should not be able to do, they not only managed it, they excelled.

The M3 speakers had a warm, wholesome sound, and they accurately reproduced the strings and vocals when listening to jazz, acoustic and classical recordings. However, they also performed surprisingly well with rock and country, at levels much louder than we expected they could support. Make no mistake, the M3's are bookshelf speakers, and there is a limit to the amount of bass available. Nevertheless, the performance was very impressive for a speaker of this size.

The M3's would work splendidly in a two-channel stereo system or as the main speakers in Axiom's Epic Master home theater speaker system. With wonderful performance and very attractive looks, all at a great price, you can't go wrong with the Axiom M3 bookshelf speakers.