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Will M50 speakers survive?
#94189 05/13/05 05:00 PM
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Well, last evening I received my M50s and QS4s. It took 4 days to get them, and I live in Newfoundland. Great service Axiom! The posts I have read are correct. The speakers look great and the finish is perfect. I am awaiting my Yamaha HTR 5860 receiver from Etronics and should get it within a week. But arrg.... the wait to hear these Axioms is killing me.

My question is this. I have an old (circa 1986) Toshiba 35 watt stereo receiver. Is there potential in me damaging the M50s by trying them out with this low powered amp? Am I flirting with danger by hooking up the Axioms (I note the M50s are supposed to handle 10-200 watts amplification) Anyone with suggestions?

Re: Will M50 speakers survive?
#94190 05/13/05 05:10 PM
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Congrats on the speakers.
Fire em up. Then you'll be really happy when you connect them to new receiver.

Re: Will M50 speakers survive?
#94191 05/13/05 05:12 PM
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it will be fine. just leave the volume low.

if you're concerned, do this:

put the volume at 0
start playing something
slowly but surely put the volume up a little
if you hear something funny (which i highly doubt you will), turn it off. unplug it.

as long as you keep the volume reasonable, no damage will occur. 35 watts is enough. some people use 10 watt tube amps on similar speakers.

Re: Will M50 speakers survive?
#94192 05/13/05 05:20 PM
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That's a good idea. Use the old junk amp and I can compare the sound to the old Toshiba speakers (one of which is blown)Then I'll really be able to see(hear?)what a more powerful amp can do for the Axioms.

Also thanks to Ravi for suggesting I keep the volume low for the 35 watt amp. BTW, I had a room mate in university with the name Ravi, around 1985 or so. Interesting that now is the first time I've heard the name since. He was a smart, nice guy from India doing a Masters degree in Engineering.

Re: Will M50 speakers survive?
#94193 05/13/05 09:49 PM
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yet another Indian doing his masters in Engineering.

I'm only half Indian, so I'm allowed not to

Re: Will M50 speakers survive?
#94194 05/15/05 02:40 AM
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>>My question is this. I have an old (circa 1986) Toshiba 35 watt stereo receiver. Is there potential in me damaging the M50s by trying them out with this low powered amp?

The *only* danger is if you try to play them as loudly as you could with a more powerful amp, drive the amp into clipping, ignore the distortion, and damage the tweeters. Just don't turn it up so loud you hear distortion and you'll be fine.

I found an old cheapo 10W amp in the garage and hooked it up to the M60s to see if it worked. Sounded surprisingly good and could play as loudly as I normaly want without distortion... but the HK630 definitely sounds better.

Remember that percieved loudness has a logarithmic relationship with power -- a 70W receiver will play a bit louder than a 35W receiver but not much louder.


M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39
M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1
LFR1100 active, ADA1500-4 and -8
Re: Will M50 speakers survive?
#94195 05/16/05 12:11 AM
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I did hook up the M50s to my 35 watt Toshiba receiver and am pleased with the sound. I would not turn it up past 4 on an "up to 10" dial, and volume was close to as loud as I'd go anyway.

My 14x22 ft room is very reflective since I just installed laminate flooring and the rug and furniture have not yet arrived. This should immprove sound a lot I'm thinking/hoping.

I wonder, will the new Yamaha HTR 5860 receiver make much difference to the sound? what do you think?

Re: Will M50 speakers survive?
#94196 05/16/05 12:26 AM
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good stuff!
so how good do the M50's sound compared to your old speakers?

Re: Will M50 speakers survive?
#94197 05/16/05 12:53 AM
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Well, there is a major difference in clarity. The M50s tweeeter is much sweeter, and cymbals sound like my son's do when he plays his drums. I haven't had much time with the speakers yet, but initially the bass semed about as deep as the old Toshibas, and I sort of expected more. Nonetheless, the more I listen to the M50s, the more I like them. The M50s also play louder, and without strain, even though I will not push them until I get my new receiver this week. That's also when I can try the Qs4s!

Re: Will M50 speakers survive?
#94198 05/16/05 01:13 AM
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>>My 14x22 ft room is very reflective since I just installed laminate flooring and the rug and furniture have not yet arrived. This should immprove sound a lot I'm thinking/hoping.

Yes... the main thing you will find is that the stereo imaging / "soundscape" will be much improved. The rug is a no-brainer -- make sure it covers the reflection points between your speakers and your ears -- but the wall reflections take a bit more creativity.

If you can't do anything about the first reflection points on the side walls but you have a wall behind you then at least hang a big fuzzy wall hanging behind where you sit...

Are you familiar with the trick of using a helper with a mirror to find the reflection points on walls & floor ?


M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39
M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1
LFR1100 active, ADA1500-4 and -8
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