Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners M60 vs M80 dilemna

Hello all. I'm new to the board and had a few questions for you. I am currently ugrading my speakers and can't decide which to choose, M60 or M80. My HT room is around 2000 cubic feet from the end of the couch to the wall, but my house has a very open floor plan, the HT room actually flows into various parts of the house, eg. kitchen, dining room, computer room, etc.. It's not enclosed by any means. I don't want to get the M60's and say, "Man I should have gotten the M80's." How much better are the M80's than the M60's?

Another thing is my receiver. I have the Sony STR DA7ES which has:
120 watts x 7 @ 8ohms
100 watts x 7 @ 4ohms

I don't listen to extremely loud music or movies, but I want DETAIL and CLARITY. I'll be listening mostly to music, about 60/40 music to movies. I'm ready to take the audiophile plunge. With the M80's, will I damage my 8ohm speakers with my receiver setting at 4ohms? I'll get an amp eventually but for now, it will just be my receiver. This is what the manual says:

"Alternatively, you may connect speakers with a nominal impedances between 4 and 8 ohms to any or all of the speaker terminals. However, be sure to set the IMPEDANCE SELECTOR to "4ohms" if you connect even one speaker with a nominal impedance between 4 and 8 ohms."
There is no warning about harming the 8ohm speakers, but I wanted to check with some people with more knowledge/experience.

My current set-up:
Fronts: Kenwood JL-series(cant remember the model)20+ years old
Surrounds: Polk audio Rti25's
Center: Polk CSi 180
Sub: KLH 12" (bought from Costco, hey, it sounds geat)

I will be replacing all of this eventually, but will start with the fronts. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Eric

Given the description of your layout and your listening habits, the M60s will definitely be enough speaker for you -- 95% of the time. It's that extra 5% of the time that you need to consider when choosing between the M80s and the M60s. The primary difference between the M60 and the M80 is that the M80s play cleaner and louder and can handle ungodly amounts of power. The times when you feel like saying "To hell with reasonable listening levels! I want to hear my music really loudly in the bathroom on the other end of the house!" you will be glad you have the M80s.

Soon after purchasing the M80s, you'll want to upgrade to a receiver that can handle a 4-Ohm load without having to flip a switch. Such switches limit the power output of the receiver to prevent it from overloading. It's a big compromise just so the manufacturer can claim their product can drive a 4-Ohm load.

Eric, welcome. As to getting the M60s and then wishing that you got the M80s, if that's your philosophy about whenever there's something available that's even slightly better, then yes, that's what will happen in this case. The M60s should serve you well for many years, on the other hand, if the itch doesn't get to you.

As to the 4ohm setting on the receiver, disregard what the manual says and keep it at 8ohms regardless of what the impedance rating of the speakers you use happens to be. The 4ohm setting is simply a type of safety precaution to keep the Underwriters Lab happy because it helps reduce the chance of overheating.It does this by reducing the maximum voltage that the receiver's power supply section can output, and because of Ohm's Law, when the maximum voltage is reduced so is the maximum current and power available. So, although the chance of overheating is reduced, so is the maximum power that would be available otherwise(as much as 50%).

I would say if you plan on getting a new amp or receiver in the near future then get the m80's. If you think it will be some time before you can get a new amp then get the m60's.

I have m80's in a 2100 CF room (that is open to the kitchen and hallway) and they sound great.

I planned on getting the m60's since my room is fairly small and I wasn't planning on spending more than a few hundred on a receiver. However, I went to audition some speakers and the only thing I nearby was the m80's.... and after hearing the m80's I knew I would never be satisified if I purchased the m60's

I ended up buying a denon 3808 which I purchased from 6ave for $1100 (MSRP is $1599).

I am sure that the m60's are great speakers though (never heard them).

I would suggest checking in the "hearing things" forum and see if anyone is nearby that has the m60's or m80's. (or both) Maybe that will help answer your question.

Or possibly, you would have been shocked that you could get almost the same performance for a little less and in certain cases not need to upgrade your receiver

All kidding aside, either speaker should make you really happy but if you are already concerned about upgrading to the 80 then it will just fester and bother you....everyday. As for the extra power the 80 can handle, in all reality unless you have a very large area and tons and tons of power the 60's will serve you just fine.

I debated 60 vs. 80 and was lucky enough to be at Axiom to demo speakers and the creator himself told me to go with 60's with no concerns. I actually prefer the looks of the 60's better so the upgrading bug never really bugged me. I actually traded in my system not to long ago and upgraded to the High Gloss Cherry BUT I got 60's again when I could have moved to the 80's if I wanted to...good luck.

Thanks for everyone's responses. I think I have made my choice and I know I will be happy with it. I'm gonna get BOTH.
You see, I moved into this new home about 4 months ago and it is TWICE the size of my old place (3100sqft), not including the unfinished basement. Of course, I only have ONE ht system right now, and that will just not do.

I'm going to start off with the M60's and the QS8's. I'll take the old stuff to my bedroom so I can have a system there. There will be a dedicated HT room up stairs that I am currently working on. There is only a flat screen tv and a gaming system in now. I'll get the M80's for that room in the next 6 to 8 months. That will give me time to get an amp and another receiver, or maybe just another receiver that can handle the load of the M80's. That's my plan, it will just take my a bit longer but that's ok. I'm glad there are some HT pics here, there are some very nice set-ups that have given me a lot of ideas.

I'll let everyone know how I like the M60's when I get them. Thanks for the help.

Now that's what I call a solution!

good call!

I too hate upgrade-itis, so I got the M80. Somewhere on this board is a nice review by Mojo (et al) regarding the difference between the M80 and M60. If I had read that review before I got the 80's, I would have got the 60's like I wanted and been happy. Given that the review happened after I got my 80's, I can't blame it on lack of research. Am I sending the 80's back for 60's? No Way!!

Scott

Thats interesting Scott. I walked into Axiom thinking the M60 was the perfect speaker for me and, after auditioning both, left wanting nothing less than the M80.

Its such a personal decision.