I am thinking of moving UP from a pair of M80v3s to a pair of M100 v4.
Issues:
a. The sound of M100 is not a huge jump UP from M80. A little disappointing given that it is costing me near $1700 to upgrade
b. THe M100 sounds muddled at until 10'. Play it LOUD and go to the next room, it sounds awesome. This is very strange
I am using awesome electronics FLAC files, Logitech Transporter, Ayre K5-xE-MP preamp, and 14B-SST (2008). Self-built cables of course.
CONCLUSIONS: The M100v4 is a tiny hop/step/jump UP from a M80 v3. This is just day #2, so I need to wait and see (NO - I do not believe in break-in). I have seen idiots suggest break-ins for Brystons. Call the factory - the will tell you what to use (example: I blew a fuse in the input soft-start circuits. Bryston recommended $0.25/each fast acting fuses. There exist IDIOTS who pay $75 for a gold/silver fuse - stupid, stupid, stupid.
All opinions are mine.
Sincerely,
BapchaMan - the semiconductor genius
What your experiencing is really nothing new and one thing I learned over the years is once you get in to speakers of the caliber and size of the M80, anything beyond that is going to be, at best, a marginal improvement. I would suspect just from the physical size of the cabinet alone along with the extra driver there would be the potential for some extra bass with the M100 but beyond that, the differences between the M80, which is already a large speaker and the M100 would be negligible. it has also been pointed out that the M100 is somewhat more finnicky in placement and that is why I really couldn't consider them(too many walls). Some might think differently in what they hear.
The difference in price between the M80 and M100 is really not surprising. Back awhile ago I looked at and listened to and compared "Paradigm's" Studio and Signature series. In the comparable models they look virtually identical, however, the Signature brand is in some cases more than double the price of the Studio series. I have heard them both, whatever differences there were, I couldn't here them and they certainly weren't worth the difference in price.
It is an old story in audio. Sometimes when you think you "want"(not need) something better, all it proves is what you already had was as good as it gets.
