The M60 v3’s vortex ports are said to deliver deeper bass without creating noisy air turbulence. The loud-sounding deep bass hits heard in Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones proved this out

Even after all my experimentation with the speakers’ positioning, the M60 v3 still sounded a bit bright to me. The treble was clean and smooth but seemed a bit elevated in level, as if someone had turned the treble control up about 2 dB (something that couldn’t have happened accidentally because the Krell S-300i integrated amp I was using doesn’t have tone controls). My later measurements of the speakers didn’t bear out this impression, but still, it’s what I heard.

Even though I was evaluating the M60 v3 as a stereo pair, I felt I should give it a try with a few movies because it’s also sold as the left/right speaker in Axiom’s various Epic 60 home theater systems. Based on what I heard, the M60 v3 can more than hold its own in a surround sound system — in fact, the other speakers in the system might struggle to keep up. The same captivating wraparound effect came through in movies, too. The sound effects liberally sprinkled through the documentary Moog, about synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog, zipped around my head like mosquitoes on a Texas summer night.

The only downside of the M60 v3 for movie reproduction is the same one shared by all tower speakers: You have to position them so that their midrange and treble sound right, and then hope the bass turns out okay. The numerous deep bass hits in Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones sounded plenty loud, but they didn’t sound as even and tight as they would have with an ideally positioned subwoofer in the system.

BOTTOM LINE
The Axiom Audio M60 v3 gave me the reliable engineering excellence I expect from the Canadian school. It also gave me something I didn’t anticipate: that extra dose of audio excitement I often hear in more exotic designs. This is one speaker I can recommend for anyone, from the home theater aficionado seeking studio-style perfection to the audiophile seeking something a little more than mere technical competence.