Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M60 / M80 vs B&W 804S - Opinions and experiences

Hi everyone,

I'm now back in the forum, after getting to know the axiom product line really well some years back. Really enjoyed reading all the reviews and great experiences people had with Axiom speakers.
Now i have a realistic opportunity to own a pair of Axioms as they now offer free shipping to Singapore.

Was just at the local store today and happened to hear a pair of B&W 804S that was being auditioned. Now i have never really heard speakers in this price range, and i must say that the 804S are really impressive in all aspects, highs, mids, lows, transients and soundstage.

From my impression of the M60 and M80 reading reviews and comments by owners, i believe their sound quality are in the same league, though i have never personally heard them. If i had to pick one thing, i would imagine the B&W have the edge in midrange performance due to the unique midrange driver. How about the highs, does the Axiom sound harsh, in comparison to the B&W?

Would appreciate if a fellow forumer who had the opportunity to hear both these speakers share their thoughts on the differences and similarities.

Thanks a lot!

I've heard a lot of Axioms (most of the line, other than the M2s and in/on walls), and I would never describe any of them as harsh, except when the source material is.

I haven't heard any B&W 804s, so I can't speak to that.

I'll also point out that unique drivers do not necessarily mean better sound. Kevlar is a perfectly valid material to make a speaker cone out of, but so is aluminum.

I commented in your other thread about this. The m60's sound like the 703's, not sure about the 804's.

I have never heard the B&W's in question, but the M80s would not disappoint. I have been hard pressed to see how anyone could justify buying any other speaker for the money the retailers want for anything that sounds as good as the M80's.

People buy whats available to them. If you've never heard of Axiom it's not an option. Many people also won't take the chance on buying something that they can't see and hear. I demoed Focals and B&W 803's and I feel that my M80's, for the price, are a far better value. I'm glad I took the plunge
Mel N.

I recently choose the M60's over the B&W 683's. I personally liked the 683's better than the 703's. I did not listen to any of the 800 series (why ruin my expectations when I can't afford them anyway). For me, the choice was made because of the price. I really thought the 683's had an edge over the M60's, but not a $1000 edge. I REALLY liked the surrounds that B&W had to offer (DS3's). I was not sure how the QS8's would work. Since I've had them now for a week or so, I can say I'm impressed.

Thanks for the comments. Is there any trick to searching to forums, or is search not working. I did not manage to get any results for 703s....

The main thing is to adjust the Newer than. . . and Older than criteria boxes

Better yet, try here

Peter set up a custom search tool for us!

The Axiom search tool does not work as well as it used to work. They currently only allow for a 1 year range.

To help the new members we should start talking about old stuff all over again. It'll be like a search tool in real time.

Don't we do that already, with the constant, "which sub should I get" and "what is the difference between M60/M80." questions.

Oh yeah, we do.

It's like a constant progression--as the new guys come along their questions get answered, then as the new guys get some posts under their belts they answer to the even newer guys, and so forth and so on.

Then the old guard comes marching in and hijacks the thread. . .

Hijacking like the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Savvy.

I declare the thread officially hijacked...

LOL..

Anyway, only found one post mentioning the 704S, another comparing against the 683S.

I happen to know someone who just bought a pair of 683S, so i'll invite myself for an audition : ).

Keep the insights and comments flowing!

Sorry for double posting, but i noticed in the FR charts for the M22, M60 and to a lesser extent the M80, the treble response starts dropping quite drastically at about 16kHz and is -10dB by 20kHz.

Is this physically audible? How does it compare with speakers that have flat response up to 25kHz or even 40kHz? I would imagine it being described a 'airy'. After all, most people can't really hear 20kHz.

I believe Alan has mentioned in the past this drop off was an anomaly of the anehoic chamber. I for one have not noticed any problems in the upper FR.

Yep, and I don't believe all speaker companies provide graphs in an anechoic environment, which gives you the best indication of the speakers performance.

It appears a number use a quasi-anehoic setup and some don't show below 100-200hz.