Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners M60's owners...what receiver/amp do you have?

Hi everyone. I'm still in the process of getting a A/V receiver or preamp/power setup. Could you guys tell what setup power's your M60's and comment on the sound (describe it) you're getting. I'm looking for a sweet, round sound for music...I'll be satisfied with whatever I get for home theater stuff. Ipod integration would be nice. Some brands I've checked out are Outlaw, Denon, Yamaha and Marantz. My budget is around $800-$1000.

Thanks again guys !!!

osvi

Harmon Kardon is known for their warm sound and they now feature an Ipod bridge. I'm running M22's with a stereo HK3480 and it's pretty hard to describe the sound as sweet or round but it sounds great and those terms might not be too far off the mark.

larry

I was running the M60s stereo with an HK 3270 and am now running them in 5.1 (7.1 if I ever wire up the back M2s) with an HK 630.

I'm not a big believer in noticeable sound differences between comparably high end receivers, so I will just describe the sound as "solid" and "smooth"

I'm using a used HK AVR-320 I bought from a member here about 2 1/2 years ago. I'm using it with M60s, QS8s and a VP150. It has more than enough power for my 21'x17'room thats open on one wall to the rest of the house.

At 55w per channel on paper it doesn't sound like enough but I have to tell you it plays loud and sounds great.

Wow...HK seems to be pretty popular...I have not seen them available here in Puerto Rico but I'll checked them out for sure. Anyone else?

Thanks guys

osvi

Denon 2805 rocks my PorterPlex.

I think you will find that Denon and HK are the most popular, probably followed by Onkyo and Rotel, then an increasingly small number of other brands.

There used to be a poll on this, I think, although not M60-specific. Does anyone remember where it is ?

Found it, Receivers and you were right John, 65% of us use Denon receivers.

I use an Onkyo for a receiver but i've used several other items as amp sections.
The processors onboard all these receivers should do an equal job. The amp sections may vary but in general, any good quality receiver should do. The Harmon Kardon and Denons are pretty solid in this respect although i've never had any problems running light load 4 ohm speakers with my Onkyo 797.

I've heard no significant difference between a Denon 2803 and my Onkyo in past listening tests. The test itself wasn't even worth posting.

I am one of the only 9% using Pioneer (Elite), but I really like it. Here is the short and sweet of it. Alan from Axiom gave me some good advice about receivers. He said that once you get above about $500, you are in to the good receivers, above $750 and you are in to the really good ones, above $1000 and you are either looking at cutting edge technology, or some of the more "exclusive" brands that are for those people that don't care how much items cost because they can afford it.

He also commented that the nice things about receivers is that in these "above $500" price range, they are all pretty good, and it just comes down to personal preference and features. So don't worry too much about it. Do some looking and comparing of features and price and pick one of the "name brand" ones and you'll do great.

Count me in as a Pioneer Elite A/V owner too. Really like it for both HT and music. Very detailed, plenty of power.

i have a NAD t163 processor, with a marantz mm9000 amp..

i have 60's 150, and qs8's.. sound. um good... the amp is 170X5 and it gets loud enough for me for music, and more than enough for any movie... i reccomend a ep600 also. they are good...

onkyo TX-SR600

I have a Marantz 5300 and love it. GREAT for music and pretty damn good for movies as well It was pushing my 60 just find, but was able to get a Sunfire Cinema Grand amp for next to nothing so I just had to go to that. Although my sub is using the Marantz for the connection.

Hey, somebody had to represent Yamaha in here. I've been using a RXV1400 in a 7.1 setup with M60s, VP150, QS8s and M2s, and an SVS sub.

Extremely pleased, though I think the speakers are key contributors to the nicely balanced sound I've been enjoying. I use the space for primarily HT viewing but also SACD and DVDA surround listening. Great soundstage, extremely detailed, smooth midrange and nice blending into the lows from from the SVS. Plays LOUD enough if asked to drive any sane person out of the room without distortion.

I've had a mix of amps/receivers before, and I have absolutely no complaints with this Yamaha - it's a good piece.

I'll also put in a vote for the Yami's. I use a V2600 to push my Axioms and it does a terrific job and while I wanted it for its HDMI handling, the V1600 would be in your price range but minus some of the clever video stuff (the audio section is pretty much the same). Thanks to this set up I've now rekindled my interst in listening to music (even though the setup was originally intented to HT).

From my (limited) experience you not going to get a "warm" sound from your Axioms regardless of your amp....your going to get brutally honest. The first track I played when my Axioms arrived was "From Paris To Berlin" and the lead female vocal sounded like a snake and I was crushed. Turnes out the sibilance is a recoding issue you just don't hear with that "warm" car radio sound!

I am not sure about the pricing, but I am using an NAD C372 amp. This system is only two channel stereo. The sound is great.
You can crank the tunes all night, nice and clean.

Shane D

Harman Kardon AVR-135. Believe it or not, it does the trick just fine.

So Jordan, how is the system working out?

Hi Chess,

The system is working out great. I am very happy with the M60's. I was worried that maybe I had over-inflated my expectations in the 7 week wait period but they managed to meet, even exceed, my expectations.

I was also worried that the AVR135 might be a bit on the weak side. I'm happy to report that it has more than enough power for my needs. I don't even come close to running it full-out. Mind you, it won't likely reach 106db like at your place.

I'm trying to find a SPL Meter but am having a difficult time at it. L&M have them in from time to time but they are a bit touch and go.

I think the next step down the line is to get a centre channel. I wish that I had paid more attention to the 150 last time I was over at your place. However, I was more focussed on the M60s at that time.

All the best,

J