Axiom M-60 Tower, $2000 Per Pair
{37.5h, 9.25w, 15d, 48 lbs, 92 dB SPL, 8 ohms, 10-250 w/ch}
Two 6.5” Aluminum Woofers, One 5.25” Aluminum Midrange, One Titanium Tweeter
Bryston contracted Axiom to build its speakers a decade ago. The project was a tremendous success and the companies merged. The resulting company is simply called Bryston.
Bryston is using the Axiom banner to bring speakers and electronics to market that are outstanding- yet under the price and power levels reserved for the Bryston brand.
Axiom speakers are built in Canada with a 5 year warranty.
M-60 Is Special
M-60 is the least expensive tower in the Axiom family. It is priced right there with a zillion Chinese imports but it leaves them in the dust. M-60 benefits from the merger of Bryston/Axiom more than any other model.
M-60 is shockingly strong for its price point and has allowed us to cut ties with the Asian imports that have dominated the $2k and further south ranges.
M-60 has much deeper and cleaner bass than any $2k import. Its bass is only down 3dB at 36Hz. That’s not an advertising claim. That’s a true measurement.
To compare, B&W’s 703, $6000 pr, is made in China and measures (Brit Hi-Fi News) down 3dB at 46Hz.
When you compare M-60 to any number of the imports, you’ll be amazed how bass appears to come up through your floor boards that you didn’t expect. When listening to any number of the flimsier competitors, you miss the bedrock of the music. M-60 devastates the Chinese speakers in bass performance in particular. Those speakers… are made in job houses half way around the planet and cut every corner they can in cost. Diminution of cabinet structure and driver horse power are costly to musical performance.
Of equal importance to frequency response, M-60’s impedance swing barely touches 5 ohms at 30 Hz. The rest of its impedance measures an amp friendly 7 ohms and up. The B&W measures 2.9 ohms at 111 Hz, proving it is a BEAR to drive and you need a far more expensive amp to control it, vs Axiom.
Bryston parsed the DNA of its highly successful A3. Their goal was to scale back as little as possible but still manage to hit the important price point of $2k per pair. By reducing size/weight/power of cabinetry and drive elements, M-60 is still quite formidable and representative of Bryston’s sound.
M-60 has a spacious image, smooth top end class leading bass/power. It allows you to hear the beauty of great female singers and acoustic instruments, while delivering impressive muscle.
If you can go north a grand, of course you should buy Bryston’s full bore, higher powered model A3. It has higher power handling, dynamic range, and even deeper bass with more precise imaging- along with a 20 year warranty. Bryston’s heavyweight cabinetry with superior bracing and stronger drive elements take you to the next echelon.
If you’re considering speakers at $1500-2k, please let me twist your arm to buy the Axiom M-60. You’ll be getting a better sounding speaker, with great support, made in N America.
Let’s quit supporting the mundane and tenuous speakers spit out from job houses on the other side of the globe. They’re stealing our jobs, money and providing skimpy sound to boot.