Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Power Amp/ Speaker Indecision

Hello,

I'm buying my first system and having a little trouble choosing between speakers and power amps. My primary interest is stereo. I plan on buying a DVD player, but only because it is also a SACD player.

The speakers under consideration are Axiom M22ti, M60ti, and Magnepan MMG.

I am considering the MMGs for all the widely reputed reasons, the sound of the MG12's I witnessed a few months, and not insignificantly, the $550 price tag. The downside is that the MMGs would require more current (SS current considering my lean budget)

Which brings me to the pair of ASL WAV-8s I heard driving a pair of Focus FR70's. The amps were so surprising that the one decision I made a few months ago (buying the MMGs) was in jeopardy. The WAV-8s probably won't drive the MMG's very well. So I began my search for an altenative speaker. One that could compare in sound quality to the Focus FR70. One in a box. One without a sub-woofer, (preferably, even though I considered getting one with the MMGs)

This puts the M-60 at the top of the list. However there are a few concerns:

Can the WAV-8 drive the M-60's without damaging them and deliver the sound quality I heard from the Focus FR70's?

My room size is 13 X 10 X 10, old wet plaster walls and hard wood floors (with 2 windows facing due north, if this matters...) Are the M-60's too large for the room from a performance point of view?

Will the M22's perform just as well without a sub, given my room size?

If the M-60's will work adequately with the WAV-8's for the near term, and sometime later I chose to purchase a SS power amp to bi-amp with the WAV-8s, why (Alan) wouldn't this be an improvement given the wattage of the WAV-8's?

Thank you for any enlightenment you can give me.

Other planned purchases:

Music Hall MMF-7 turntable w/Goldring Eroica MC cartridge
Sony DVP-NS755V DVD/CD/SACD
ASL MG PHONO DT PRE AMPLIFIER (purchased already)
Radio Shack copper cable

Anyone looking for info on these ASL monoblocks can check out:
http://www.divertech.com/

Jay:
Do a search in the Axiom forums for M60s and reviews. Several recent ones have been posted. You should get a pretty good idea of their characteristics from the forum user opinions.

I'd check out nOhr's SE-9, a 9 watt per channel integrated SET tube amp for $400.

I have the Antique Sound Labs MG S1 15DT, a 5 wpc SET integrated amp and love it. I use it to drive a pair of M-22 like, Axiom made Michaura M55s and an 8" Velodyne amplified sub. This combination is absolutely wonderful.

You are building a well balanced system. This will be a source of much joy!

With regard to your speaker and amp queries, the Maggies hold a mystic quality to audiophiles. I have heard most of the models, and enjoyed all. I have not heard the Focus, so no comment on them.

Keep in mind that these are 2 vastly different technologies in speaker design. They will naturally sound different, which is a reflection of the design.

I would suggest that the tube amp you lust after would drive the M60's fine. You may not get extremely loud sound, but it should be quality. Whether it would match you demo of the Focus, well, only you could tell that.

While I am a little more on the positive side of bi-amping, I would not do this with a SS and tube amp...too vast a difference in technology design points.

The link provided in the thread is an excellent company, who carries IMHO one of the finest speakers I have ever heard (and owned) the Reference 3a.

Facing north huh? Well depending on your location, and chances are, this is appropriate for paying respects to Ian, the god of Axiom!