Axiom M2 vs. Polk LSi7

[gevorg]

Trying to decide between these two since the Polk's are heavily discounted at their ebay outlet. So price aside, how do they compare?

- Both have same size drivers (5.25" woofer, 1" tweeter)
- Axiom has higher sensitivity and higher impedance over Polk (91dB vs 88dB, 8 vs 4 Ohms)
- Current amp has plenty of power for both (Onkyo A-9555)

Sound quality preferences:

- big/3D soundstage and wide sweet spot
- prefer forgiving/musical sound instead of highly analytical/neutral one
- low bass is not important

Primary use: low to mid volume music listening of all kinds of genres

Any other suggestions for under $500?

 

[j_garcia]

I have heard the M3 and I used to own 3 sets of LSi7s. The LSi7s are easily the better speaker. Driver size is not a good comparison here (no contest).

The LSi7s don't have a huge sweet spot - the tweeters are great, but are also relatively sensitive to placement. The cabinets are far, FAR better constructed and the components used are of a higher quality as well (IMHO). I am not a Polk fan, but between these two, the choice is clear.

Other options would be www.ascendacoustics.com The CMT-340 would be just above your budget, but you might be able to get some b-stocks for less.

 

[fredk]

I am using dual M2s as centers, but I have listened to them two chanel. They are a forgiving speaker, but still have a flat frequency response. The midrange is quite good.

I have not heard the Polks.

If you have narrowed your choice to two speakers, you owe it to yourself to listen to both to decide which you like best. All we can do is tell you what we like.

 

[cfrizz]

My brother has a pair of LSI 7's, and they are a great little (but very heavy) speaker. Feed them plenty of power and they can really rock. For a bookshelf they have quite a bit of bass (in a small room)

My brother originally had them hooked up to a Rotel 50wpc amp, after an extended listening session you could fry an egg on the top of the Rotel. He now has them hooked up to a 205wpc Parasound amp. The speakers sound much better & the amp stays much cooler.

I absolutely love the tweeter in the LSI, it is nice and smooth, clear & not bright which is the most important factor to me.

I would love to get a pair of LSI 15's but can't manage the weight. If I ever do have to replace my current 19 year old Polk towers, I will end up getting some Dynaudio Focus speakers.