Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Recommended Receiver

Hey Guys. I have ordered the m80s for start of the upgrade to my HT and they will be here this week (nose prints on the windows already). I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a new HT receiver. I have been reading some about Outlaw and Denon. I have an old HK currently. Any suggestions? ANY help, opinions, suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

Davie6, welcome and congrats on your order, as I'm sure you are aware the M80's are 4ohm speakers, not sure of your model HK so I can't presume it will drive them.
Most of the mid end Denons, Yamahas and other name brands should have no issues driving the 80's. If you need to purchase a new reciever find one that has the bells and whistles you need. If you can give us a price range I'm sure you will get many suggestions.

Davie, another welcome. Confident that you'll be thrilled with your M80s. You haven't described your room, your present HK(it might still meet your needs if it isn't very old)or your budget. Nevertheless, consider the Onkyo 604 , which is an excellent buy.

If you're looking at Outlaw Audio, something to consider is that their receivers and pre/pro's have DVI inputs/outputs rather than HDMI. At least that was the case when I looked into their equipment a couple of months ago. While DVI and HDMI do have compatible video signals (i.e. you can get cables with a DVI connector at one end and HDMI connector at the other end), DVI doesn't transmit audio signals while HDMI does. Also, HDMI is the future, and new equipment is very unlikely to have any DVI connectors.

Something else to consider when looking at receivers is to find one that has 8-channel preouts, so that you can connect an external amplifier. Especially with the M80's, you may want/need an amplifier that can deliver more juice than some receivers can handle comfortably. Some of the lower-end models in each brand's product line don't have any preouts, or only has them for the subwoofer. For the Onkyo's, the 700's and above have 8-channel preouts. For Denon's, the 787 and above have 8-channel preouts. I don't remember the Yamaha's and Pioneers off the top of my head, but you get the idea.

There's a lot more to say, but as others have mentioned, price range, room size, other speakers, 5.1 or 7.1, etc. would all be helpful info.

Can the Onkyo 604 receiver drive the M80 well? It seems that receiver is only listed at 6ohm's or 8ohm's per the specs on that site.

Audioholics did a review of the Onkyo TX-SR601 while using the M80s.

Hi Blobula,

In the past, a number of Onkyo AV receivers would not drive 4-ohm loads without current-limiting or shutting down. If you examine the specs of most AV receivers except for a few higher-end models (Rotel, B&K. . .), most manufacturers will warn against driving 4-ohm loads.

However, through Axiom customer experience as well as bench-testing a number of different brands at Axiom's plant, we have found that some brands have sufficiently stable amplifier sections to drive the 4-ohm M80s in rooms of reasonable size (not huge rooms) to high volume levels without overheating or current limiting. These brands include Denon, Sherwood Newcastle (models R771 and R865), Harman/Kardon, and Outlaw Audio. I don't know about the Onkyo 604, but many of Sound&Vision magazine's tests of Onkyo AV receivers with 4-ohm loads cause them to go into current limiting. The latter limits the amplifiers' output power to a fraction of the normal output.

Regards

On the recommendation of Axiom and having Bridgman double check the specs, I ordered the sherwood newcastle R-771. It is sitting in my livingroom ready to be installed. However, my basement won't be ready for another month. I am confident that receiver will do my system just fine.

Since the M80s are 4 ohm speakers, I'd look into getting separates. Some receivers will drive 4 ohm loads, but if you're looking at an entire Axiom HT setup, I'd highly recommend buying at least a three channel amp to run the front end (R/C/L), as you're looking at 4 ohm load for the mains and 6 ohm loads for the rest of the speakers (if you're going to best match the M80s). If you're going to fork over the cash for a receiver that will handle this well, I don't think it's much a jump to move right into separates.

If you're on a budget, I'd look at Outlaw Audio's combos. They'll discount preamp/amp combinations. While this will cost more than most midline receivers, I think you'll be happier with it in the long run. Also check out Rotel (though the bang/buck ratio isn't what it used to be), Arcam, and Anthem (more expensive, but these can be found on e-bay from time to time at a discount). If memory serves, Marantz used to have a high bang/buck ratio, but I'm not sure where they stand today.

Happy hunting!

I had that exact combination (604+M80s) for a month. It can drive the M80s, but I really had to crank it up. I had given a yamaha 2500 to my father in law and I made him switch me. I'd look into something mid end from last year on Ebay. Avoid HK refurbs-I went through FOUR 635s with them before just getting my money back to buy the Onkyo. Pity too because I loved that receiver. 2 died within minutes, 1 lasted 2 days, and the last one actually made it 6 days before dying.

The Onkyo is, however, a good unit. Simple to use, great menuing system. If it had preouts I would have lived with it and bought separates in a few years.

Guys. THANKS so much for your info so far. Sorry so long to get back. Have been terribly busy at work. Here is what I have at the moment. 12 x 18 room vaulted ceilings with a fair amount of glass. I have an HK avr55. Bose 201 rear and 151 center (got rid of the 901s for the M80s and the rest when I get the cash). I have had HK since I was young and I haven't yet had a problem. Sorry about yours DrunkenWolf. So far this is what I have on my shortlist.

Several DENON
HK 635 (good price at Abes of Maine)
Sherwood R 865
Rotel RSX-1057

I did have the Outlaw on the list but no HDMI. Thanks Dennis for pointing that out.

Anything else that I should go look at?

OOPS Sorry. That should be 14 x 18 room size. Also I really dont want to spend more than 2k. Would if something or GREAT VALUE showed up.

If you can get a 635 that doesn't break I know you'll be happy.

Davie6,

beware of the 635. I have seen many, many posts on other forums claiming issues with it. Apparently there is a board that is prone to breaking. I had considered it originally, but then decided against it, after reading about all the issues.

Hi,

Forgot to mention that NAD and ARcam AV receivers will drive 4-ohm loads but they tend to be much more expensive than Denon, Sherwood, H/K, etc.

Regards,

If HDMI is a must, I'd wait until manufacturers start supporting 1.3. My Dad had all kinds of problems with HDMI switching and ended up going with component connections. Also note that you can get DVI/HDMI converters, though you will have to run audio cables separately (this is where my Dad had issues on his system, audio switching through HDMI... his system is less than 6 months old, so what's in his is likely in most).

To be honest, this is one of the main reasons I'm waiting to replace my receiver with a pre-pro. Nothing has the HDMI 1.3 chips yet... at least not that I'm aware of. The 1.3 specifications have been solidified, so I'm sure the hardware will be forthcoming before too much longer.

I've posted it before and I'll post it again, let your video gear do the video switching, etc, like HDMI and let your audio gear do the audio switching and processing.

I got Denon AVR-3806 driving my M60. It's awesome. I think it should work fine with M80 as well. Of course if you have the $$, you might want to get the 4806 or their top of the line 5805 instead

But back to reality, I would say 3806 combined with Outlaw external amps would be great for M80. I only have the 3806 with no additional amps and it's good enough for my M60 in 16'x13' room, but you might want to consider getting the extra juice for M80 though.

I have a Denon AVR2105 (90W/channel) in a 4000 cubic foot room. I sit 8 feet away from the M80s. For music, I have the Denon set at about -25 which is less than a watt per channel. For movies, I have it set at about -15 or -20 which is a few watts per channel. Put your money to an EP600 instead of a monster amp unless your cathedral ceilings are 30 feet tall. I hope this helps and happy listening.

And as you all know, my Denon 2805 does a pretty darn good job in my 8,000 cu ft room.

I use my M80's for stereo music only. I have an Outlaw 2150 receiver driving the speakers in a 10,000+ cubic foot room. Wonderful sound and amplifier runs cool. It is rated at 160 watts into 4 ohms.