Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M80ti 4 ohms the rest 8 ohms

Hey y'all! I'm new to the forums but I have been reading all the posts for a couple of weeks. I am currently thinking of getting the 60's or 80's for stereo listening. I noticed from the specs that the 80's are four ohms and the rest of the speakers in Axioms line are eight ohms. If I get the 80's and later on want to go with surround or possibly multi channel SACD or DVDA, will there be a problem adding more Axiom speakers? My amp is a vintage HK high current unit that claims 150 watts rms at 4 ohm and 150 watts rms at 8 ohms. Is it bad to mix different ohmed speakers. I have been thinking if I go multi channel I would probably go with the M80ti and the M22ti This is probably a stupid question since Axiom offers surround systems built around the M80 but I was just wondering if I should stick with the 60's for that reason. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

oz
In short, No you shouldnt have any problems mixing the different Axiom speakers with your H/K amp.
I'm sure someone will jump in and give you more details.
BTW: The QS speakers are 6ohm.

Should not be an issue. Actually, the VP150 center and Qs8 surrounds are 6ohm, but most of the other Axiom speakers are 8ohm rated. As long as your receiver you select can drive 4ohm speakers, most Denons, HK's, and seperates, they can also drive 6 and 8 ohm speakers at the same time with no issues.

Randy

60's 150 350 4-Qs8's
Denon 2805

The Axiom Qs8 Surrounds and VP150 Center are 6 ohm.

You would not have a problem mixing different ohm rated speakers. You wrote 150 @ 4 AND 8. Is this correct? Unusual for both to be the same.

The questions that going to be asked is what H/K do you have? How big is you room? Music or HT?

Thanks for the quick response. You are right! I have been just concentrating in a misic system as opposed HT.
oz

Yeah I thought that unusual to deliver the same in both 4 and 8 ohm but that is what the manual says. I guess I was more concerned with balanced sound within the system since the 8 ohm load would be easier to drive wouldn't it?
oz

Oz, here is a thread that should cover your question in detail.

oz
Forgot to welcome you to the boards. Sooo..... welcome to the boards.
What size room do you plan on running the Axioms in?

Ooops....I failed to welcome you as well.

Welcome aboard Oz!

Pardon my manners......Welcome!

Big Brother...
Thanks for the link. Very good info and some nice pics of DK to boot.
Bray...
The room is pretty small right now. It is about 10 ft x13 ft.with 9 ft ceiling. That's why I was originally thinking the 60's. But the wife and I are now considering changing things around and that would put me in a room that is approx. 20 x 13 with a two story cathedral
ceiling and a very open floor plan to the rest of th house. I want HT and Music seperated for now. The family is always in front of the tv and I prefer listening to my music. My tastes run towards everything, but mostly Jazz, Classical and Adult Alternative. Why do I hate that designation? Adult Alternative ugh! I was ready to go for Spendor se5 or B&W 703 or Paradigm Ref Studio100's before finding this site through a review on one of the sites I was doing my research on.
Thanks for the warm welcomes. This seems like a great group of people here.
oz

oz
With your current room size the M60s would be plenty. with your possible larger room size the M60s would be plenty.
I havent heard the M80s, but I understand that they sound very much like the M60s. I have M60s in a rather large room and I am completely happy with them.
If you move things in the bigger space how far would your listening area be from the speakers?

Axiom 60's have been compared to 703's. I like my 80's because I can put the Denon on pure direct and get spectacular sound, even in different connected rooms.

Hi Oz. I'm a little confused (it's not your fault, confusion is my normal state ). You are looking for a pair of Axioms for stereo listening in the larger room (20x13)? Or, will your stereo listening be in the smaller room (10x13x9)? Will you be using a subwoofer for your stereo listening?

In your first post you said "I have been thinking if I go multi channel I would probably go with the M80ti and the M22ti..." Could you expand a little on this? Would this multi channel system be for music only (CDs/SACDs/DVD-As) or would you be using the same system for movies/TV as well?

You also said you'd be using "a vintage HK high current unit" to drive the stereo system. I'm assuming this is a stereo unit. What receiver preamp/amp would you be using to drive the system if you do go multi channel?

The answers to these questions will help us steer you toward the speakers that will do the job for you.

In reply to:

---

This seems like a great group of people here.

---

Thanks for the compliment, but we can be just as obnoxious as any other group of forum members. Hang around long enough and you'll see.

If you move things in the bigger space how far would your listening area be from the speakers?

Bray
The trick here is we're not sure about the switch. If we do it the larger room offers more flexibility in distance to listening area. I think it would be10 to 12 ft from the speakers. I think you may be right that the 60's would do fine. I was just wondering about the very open floor plan to the rest of the house. Wouldn't mind saving the three hundred dollars anyway.
Oz

I think the 60's will be great for stereo listen. Full range and plenty of bass. They will work well in a larger room as well.

Hey Jack

Right now I am interested in music listening only. When I mentioned multi channel I was referring to SACD or DVDA. I know many people are of the opinion that the speakers for this application should not include " surround" type speakers. They prefer more of a full range balanced sound which is why I mention the 22's with the 80's. From everything I have read here it seems like I'll want a sub whether i get the 60's or the 80's . So even for just stereo listening I will probably add a sub but I won't be abel to do all this right away. I have to save my allowance if you know what I mean.
Oh yeah and the current power supply is a HK-667ax or axi or something like that. I think it's from the mid eighties. I'm not really sure and I'm at work so I can't look right now. I'm sure this will be replaced sometime in the future. I just hope it's not too soon. HT is going to be a completely different room. I actually have a system made up of Polk Audio 6600 satellites and a 10 inch Polk woofer and HK 300 series AV reciever. I recently replaced the fronts in that system with borrowed Vienna Acoustic Bach and was very impressed with the improvement. Whaich now has me thinking about returning the borrowed Vienna's and getting a pair of M22's or M2's for that system as well. But that's a whole nuther subject. I was very impressed with how the system sounded with the Vienna's as the fronts with the Polk sub and satellites in both HT and 3 channel stereo. I seem to be rambling now so I have probably really confused you. I know I'm confused.
oz

I really appreciate all the interested parties and the valuable feedback

Doug
You say the 60's would be fine, yet I noticed in you profile that you own the 80's. What up wit dat? Do you just want to be king of the hill? 8>) All kidding aside what was the deciding factor to make you go with the 80's?
oz

I followed this forum for several months before ordering. At the same time I was auditioning all the speakers I could get to in 150 mile radius.

Axiom and members of this forum recommended EPIC 60 350. Knowing how many movies we watched I upped the sub to the 500. No mistakes made. A great system.

The more I read comments from 80 owners, the more I wanted to know the difference. I ordered the 80's and did a side by side in my home. The 80's won. They are WAY more speaker than I need. But they sound better ....IMHO

That said. The 60's are great speakers. I would recommend them to anyone.

There is a whole lot to be said about in home audition. I now want to know how much difference an amp makes. I may have to order one on a 30 day trial to find out.

Yeah, for SACD and DVD-A music listening, it is generally recommended that the surrounds be direct radiating speakers like the M22s. You wouldn't be losing much by going with the QS series speakers for surrounds, and if you were going to be using this system for movies as well, I would recommend going in that direction. But, since it's a music only system, the 22s would work very well.

As far as the mains are concerned, either the 60s or 80s will suffice. Since you are going to be using a sub, you are limited only by your budget, and the "I want them" factor.

The 4 and 8 ohm rating are the same on the NAD. I believe it is also the same on the Rotel I was looking at. The difference is in the dynamic rating. That will shoot up for the 4ohm. I noticed with arv units they seem to be the same, although a fair amount of them are not rated for 4ohm.
To the original poster, you will be VERY happy with the 60's for music! I just got mine a couple of weeks ago, and last week bought an NAD amp. TONS of power! And I do like it loud. With those speakers and a nice amp, you will not need a sub, until you go multi-channel, IMHO.
By the way, my room is about 14ft x 26ft x 8ft.

Shane D

As far as in home audition I have contacted squirellyz who lives about 15 minutes from where I work in Atlanta. I am hopeing he will be willing to set up an audition of his 60's. He has not answered me as yet. It has only been since last night that I wrote to introduce myself and see if we could work something out. I hope he likes beer because I tried to bribe him with some. He seems to be the only one listed in the Atlanta area willing to do demo's. If you know of anyone else or if anyone in the Atlanta area is reading this please contact me. I would love to hear some before I buy. I'm pretty sure I am going to buy the 22's in a week or two to hold me over till I get the money for the other set. The 60's or 80's and then move the 22's to my bedroom which needs some decent sound or use them as fronts in the surround system with the Polk satellites and sub. If I do that then I would use the Polk fronts in the bedroom until the next stage of enhancements. I'm still trying to figure it all out. I will probably wait till Bernadette and I figure out if we want to do the 3 room reconfiguration. I can already see her wheels turning trying to figure out what new furniture we will need to pull it off. So that is my bargaining chip. I appreciate all the feedback. Now I have to hear the 22's, 60's and the 80's.
oz

In reply to:

---

I believe it is also the same on the Rotel I was looking at

---

What Rotel unit would that be ? It is my experience that Rotel units will give at least 50% increase in power when running a 4 ohm load.

shane
Enjoy those new 60's and the Nad. Sounds like an awesome set up. I was looking at NAD CD players and they demoed them through that Amp. It was nice and clean sounding. Plenty of power too. I ended up buying the Music Hall cd in the end. It had a level 2 upgrade. Op amps and a few other niceties. Really improved the low frequencies. Nice rich sound. Best
oz

Oz, I haven't seen Squirellyz around for a long time. I'm assuming you sent him a PM. If you get no response, you might call Amie and see if she will give him a phone call to see if he'd be willing to demo his system. Of course, the possibility exists that he's moved on to other speakers, or wouldn't be willing, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Jack
Thanks for the heads up. I haven't yet heard from him, so I will give Amie a call
oz

I stand corrected. Rotel does not seem to give 4 ohm ratings at all. The manual I have for the RX-1052 does not have it. I just checked their web site for the power amps, and they also do not give a 4 ohm rating.

Sorry!

Shane D

Thanks! I am really liking it. I got a new tuner today, a Yamaha. Is Music Hall a brand name? What is a level 2 upgrade? And a Op amps?
Newbie alert, newbie alert!!

Shane D

I got the info when I called Rotel to see about their amps and receivers pushing a 4 ohm load.They were the ones that told me that they give at least 50% more power into 4 ohm.

If you were to look at their multichannel amp specs they do give a power rating @ 4 ohm.

Yeah... Music Hall is a pretty well respected name. They are more known for their audiophile turntables. The upgrades are internal replacements of cheaper parts for more expensive ones that are directly responsible for the music you hear.How's that for a very technical answer. It's all too technical for me to explain. There is more information on the Music Hall and the upgrades here.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/musichall/cd25.html
and here
http://www.underwoodhifi.com/mod_musichall.html
and here
http://www.musichallaudio.com/mmf_products.asp?show=false

Many here will dis this upgrade stuff. All I know is my CD player sounds incredible. Better than most any I have auditioned and I have a listened to many. They are generally well reviewed in press and web reviews.
oz

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/musichall/cd25.html
and here
http://www.underwoodhifi.com/mod_musichall.html
and here
http://www.musichallaudio.com/mmf_products.asp?show=false

Doug
thanks for the hot links. I guess I should get around to reading how to do that. But I do appreciate it!
oz

Rick, I was going by their website and the Stereophile Buyers Guide for 2004 (2005 was sold out). The RX-1052 has no four ohm rating on their web site, in the manual, or in the magazine. The buyers guide does however have 4ohm ratings for integrated amps and power amps. And, it is indeed up 50% on the integrated amps. The power amps range from 30% to about 70%!!

Shane D

The Sunfire 300-Two goes from 300@8 to 600@4.

Thanks for the reply. Their stuff sounds really nice. Also, thanks to Bugbitten for the links. That seems like a lot of money for a single player. For about that price, I could get the Rotel changer. Did you compare it against a Rotel unit? All the high end units seem to have the Burr Brown pieces.

Shane D

I think it was a lot of CD player for $400.00. I agree if I had paid the full price it would have been a bit pricey. If I had not come across this on Ebay I would have gone with the Rotel or NAD units. I figured "audiophiles" are probably on this unending quest for the perfect components. So they must be trading on ebay. What I was surprised to find out was most of this stuff holds very high resale values. But there are deals out there. You need to be careful and read every bit of info over and over again to make sure you don't get ripped off. I feel I got a great deal on a great product and actually I have kept in contact with the seller who turned out to be a great guy. He was very concerned that I be totally satisfied with the transaction. This after getting a lot less in the bid than he expected. He thought he put a reserve on and since it was his first sale on ebay he screwed up and the reserve was not on. I had seen the same item with the same upgrade sell 2 weeks prior for $500.00. Others can say what they want about upgraded electronics makeing or not making a difference to the performance of a source but the bottom line is
1 are you happy with the performance?
2 was it worth the money (in your opinion) that you spent?
Like I said I was not the original owner so I have no idea if the upgrade improved the performance or not. I do know that this is one of the best sounding CD players I have heard. It even breathed life into my 25 year old Bose 901's which I believed were beyond hope, which is what brought me to Axiom in the first place.
oz

That is really not a bad price for a relatively high end unit. I think on their web site it is like $750.00. So, to land that in Canada would make it WAY too expensive for me. I still kind of like the idea of a changer.

Shane D