Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Looking for a 5.1 system (speakers + receiver)

I would suggest that you try out the 2809 first before you take the plunge on a separate amp, I am using the 2809 and have had no issues driving the M80s along with the VP150 centre and QS8s. You can add an amp down the road if you like, but I'll say that the 2809 can play at uncomfortable levels if needed(for me anyway). BTW, check around at some other Denon dealers in your area, I'm sure you can find a 2809 closer to $900 or less esp. if they know it's on sale at one of the box stores. avu.ca are located across the country and have given me excellent deals(in person) on Denon and other brands. If you stay with FS, you can haggle with them as well...'round here, I have a half dozen FSs', if one doesn't want to haggle to my liking, I'll either find another salesman in the same store or go to a different FS. Good luck!!

Personally, I find the idea of trying to get speakers that work with a particular amplifier (ie, I want the XPA-5, so I won't get the M80s) some what backwards. Now, since you haven't heard the Axioms, so you don't definitely know that you like the sound. Remember, speakers make a whole hell of a lot more difference in the sound than amplifiers.

I wholeheartedly agree with what you're saying. I haven't heard the Axioms so for me it's not necessarily a loss going one way or another since I wouldn't know what I'm missing. Just that for $799US the XPA-5, at least on paper, is such a steal I almost feel bad not buying one. If you try to find a comparable amp from just about anyone else, including Outlaw and the likes, you're looking at about $800 or so premium. But again, this is all on paper and if the XPA-5 doesn't jive with the M80s in real applications then I'm not going to risk buying it. Doesn't mean I have to feel good about that

I'm just hoping that regardless of what I do I will hear a difference between my current set up and what I'm moving to.

Don't forget, many feel that same comparison you are making with the amps also applies to Axiom vs B&w/Paradigm ect as far as performance/price is concerned. Axioms tend to cost roughly half the $$ of many of the brands they are compared to(sometimes more).

I picked up an Onkyo 876 on sale at Visions today. It was some kind of one day only grand opening although they weren't actually opening a new store. I snagged the last one but its still in the box, I'm not sure if I want to keep it or not. I was very much set on either the 2809 or the 3808, leaning more and more towards the 2809 simply from a price stand point. Then 876 ran me $1200CAD which seems like a decent deal, nothing crazy, but honestly I didn't call around much for Onkyo prices. From what I checked online that's not a bad price at all. I would have had to pay $1300 for a demo model of the 3808 + $100 for the firmware upgrade, or get the 2809 for $1000. Seems like the Onkyo lands in the middle.

There's only two things that sort of worry me about the Onkyo, I hear that it's a "bright" receiver and so are Axiom speakers and that it has heat issues. I notice a lot of people mention that the unit runs hot and tends to shut off when the M80s go beyond 100db. Now, this isn't really that big of an issue because I'm going to be using the Outlaw monoblocks for that. I'm assuming the Onkyo shouldn't have this problem powering the 6ohm center and surrounds. As a pre/pro the Onkyo is absolutely wonderful from a feature standpoint, it's also certainly much heavier than the 2809 (25 vs 50lb) so if the Denon can run 3 speakers, I hope the Onkyo can manage. Anyone have any experience with the 876. I have 15 days to return it still, so let me know

Escaron, hopefully as you become more experienced with high quality audio equipment you'll learn not to take seriously reports of amplifiers being either "bright" or "warm". Since it's routine these days for even moderately priced units to have an audibly flat response from 20Hz-20KHz, one would have to designed with gross incompetence to have the major frequency response inaccuracy that would be necessary to exhibit an audible coloration.

No, "a lot of people" haven't said that it shuts off when the M80s go beyond 100dB, and as long as it doesn't, that means that the temperature is within acceptable design limits.

You got an excellent price on the 876 and at this point you should assume that since it's a quite powerful amplifier that it will power all your Axioms to very high levels and that no separate amplifier will be needed. Stop worrying about problems that are highly unlikely to develop and just enjoy.

that receiver should do just fine, I would not assume you need additional amps unless you try it out first as is.

A quick update for those who still care :P

I returned the Onkyo 876 today and instead picked up a Denon 3808 (albeit a demo model) for the same price. Price/Value the Onkyo was probably better but it just didn't sit right with me. The heat issue seemed to be pretty well documented and even though it only rarely resulted in shutdown problems or artifacts I still can't imagine that heat is good for any kind of electronics. Regardless of what kind of heat a component was designed to take it's not going to last as long as if it ran cooler, and I want my receiver to last a long time. I also don't want to pay 1200 for a component and then have to worry about aftermarket cooling for it :| It also seemed like Onkyo had really poor customer service and many people dropped their products after their experiences. I've read nothing but great things about Denons and their reliability and seen many Axiomites using older models with absolutely no problems. Plus, it seems like the 3808 is the poster boy receiver for Axiom speakers.

Now I just have to wait for the speakers to actually arrive so I can set it up and see how it runs

Denon 3808 is a great choice. Axiomites love their Denon .

Yeah, I almost don't feel like I belong on this message board with my wildly unpopular Integra.