Very pleased!



Major stuff includes:
NAD C542 CD Player
NAD C370 Integrated Amp
NAD C270 Power Amp
Pro-ject Expression III Turntable
Sangean HTX-1 HD Tuner

Axiom M80v2 Mains
JBL BP12 Sub

First impressions:
My M800s arrived on Thursday, and I'm very very happy with the sound. I'm amazed how expansive the soundstage is. I've been shocked several times to hear music set well outside the width/angle of the speakers; my old JBLs never did that! I set them up 12 feet apart and I'm 12 feet back, and have not had to touch them. The NADs are working great bi-amping them, and I don't think I'm had the system off in 3 days.

Over the next month, I'll need to decide if I want to spring for a set of the VaSSallo M800s. I'm not perfectly happy with the vinyl (birch) examples I have. The 90 degree edges have the characteristic look of wrapping and it looks out of place on such an amazing speaker. Its not bad, but its not perfect like the rest of the speaker. If I plan to have them for 10 years+, the extra cash is worthwhile. Maybe that edge looks better on the darker colors; I notice that Axiom almost always demo and photograph the cherry.

Grrr!

Image clipped! If someone can tell me the MAX-X size of a forum image, I'll update it ASAP.

Very nice, Clay! The finish you chose fits right in with the room.

Enjoy!

I agree, they fit in very nicely.

If you have the extra cash, no doubt real wood will look nicer.

Wow, I love the clean look! The Vassallo will definitely do the speakers justice (although the beech does complement your room nicely).

Whoo hoo, long live the stereo set-up!

Thx for all the kind comments, I'm having trouble turning this off and getting some sleep! Here is the wide angle shot, seem you cannot edit post after someone comments. Also happy no one commented on my temporary FM antenna setup, I've been playing with the best setups for HD Radio. I'm on the fringe of coverage, and with HD you either have a quality signal, or you have none at all!

Very nice, enjoy your new speakers.

Very nice! So you are running power from the Power Amp to the subs and power from the integrated amp for the mids and highs for bi-amping, or how do you have them hooked up?

Again, nice setup.

I received mine two weeks ago, and unfortunatelly they didn't do it for my room, and kind of recordings, good recordings sound good, but the mediocre ones sound really miserable, so after a few emails, conversations with the Axiom experts, I'm expecting to receive the M50's tomorrow, which in Alan's opinion (and mine) will be more suited for stereo use, and an small sized room like mine, also they sound very similar to the M3ti's that I previously owned, and loved...

One more time, good speakers are not those who measured good, but also make you enjoy the music you will listen on them, using the gear you have available, and in your room...

Agreed. All the best in finding what sounds right to you.

I have the M3s, and I used to own the M40s, and I agree with what you said. I loved how I could pretty much put on any kind of music and enjoy.

Like Mojo said, your personal enjoyment is what this hobby is all about. I hope the M50s work for you.

Thanks!

I used the two NAD's in Bridge Mode with my old JBL E100s, but bridge mode was impossible with the 4ohm M80s. A discussion on the board led to a suggestion that I passively bi-amp the M80s with one amp driving the lower posts and the other driving the upper. Although there is no actual improvement in sound with this arrangement, the amps have a amazing amount of headroom and react wonderfully to fast transients, which I suppose is an improvment. The Sub is run pre-amp out and has its own amp. I have Moby's new CD Last Night cranked right now and it's blowing my mind!

Hey, good luck with the M50s!
I also took advantage of Axioms great support service; I send Alan a drawing of my listening room (16x22 with 14 foot ceilings) and we determined that the M80s would work great. So far so good; I'm very impressed with how they sound at lower listening levels. A live levels they are superb.

Hi Sovkiller, please let us know how the M50's work out for you!

Agreed; after too long spending all my time loading up my iPod with iTunes Store AAC files, I've been raiding my local pawn shop, where they sell CDs for a buck! In the last week I've doubled up on over 100 releases that I only had on AAC. I can hook my iPod to my system but the sound is less than impressive. Flat and one-dimensional.

The unfortunate side effect of a good stereo system, the need to update and improve the music collection.

Sovkiller, glad to hear you are sticking with Axiom inspite of a somewhat bad experience. I wholly agree that poor recordings sound very poor on the M80s(even worse on the M22s) and that you have to enjoy what you have. This was why I was considering hanging onto some M60s to pair up with my M22s, when I wanted analytical accurracy I could go M22/M60 combo and when I just wanted to listen I could unplug the M22s, but with kids in the area a stacked speaker combo wouldn't work for me. I am looking forward to your comments on the M50s.

NOOOO!!! According to Alan, the M60's will be the same as the M80's in that regard, as they basically share the same signature in the sound, the M22 is the worst of the three regarding the tolerance ofbad recordings, ask them if you like, but if you are considering apair for the fun sake, the M50's will be the ones, not the 60's....IMO money was not an issue as I already have the 80's was purely what he told me...let's wait till tomorrow and I will get back to you guys...if the 50's do not do it for me...I iwll be back to the M3tis in a custom color then!!!

the 50's will not have near as much detail as the 22's, 60's, or 80's, that could be what you prefer. I want to hear the music faithfully reproduced.

They all share the same tweeter, xover at the same free more or less, the rest of the drivers are also the same, not sure why? I have the 80's right now, and trust me that I do not miss a single bit of details while using the M3ti's, even more, being honest, I even feel the M3ti even a little better on the top end for my taste...that was why I order the 50, as they are basically the same, with better low end, I love the M3ti's

Actually Sov that was my experience with M22, M60 and the M80, as I have already gone through the comparison process. I know Axiom likes to maintain that the M60, M22 and M80 have similar sonic signatures but only at reference volumes IMO, and even then there is still a slight difference. I find the M22 to be deadly accurate and very forward followed by the M80 as being forward but much fuller sounding with the larger drivers and cabinet, followed by the M60 where the vocals /upper end seemed to be slightly recessed compared to the other 2.

Now the M3 is a different beast altogether the upper end has taken a back seat to the lower mids and bass giving it a more laid back sound, all them are still nicely detailed, but I found I had to listen harder to hear the vocals and upper mids on the M3 and even to a certain extent on the M60s, more so at lower volumes on the M60 than at reference levels as the M60 at reference levels opens up and does sound similar to the M80.

As you say you prefer the sound of the M3, I think you will be very happy with the M50, although that is the one speaker I have not heard.

This is probably based on blind tests and anechoic chamber readings; however, naturally, physically different cabinets and driver complements will affect the overall sound.

Well for now I think that I'm another M80's convert, after trying the M50's, fun speakers, on top these did not fixed my problem completelly, and honestly I do not think I will trade fun for this sound I'm getting now, and the promise to get even better, with a couple of more days of burn in....

Sov,
Enjoy.... I've been leaving mine play with the tuner going while I am not listening to help break them in. The treble seems more balanced now, less localized. It's all good.

You can download the Pink Noise, which is more effective in burn in, as it is more energetic (it contains all freqs played at a time) from here, it is 20 minutes long, use track 58, then use track 59 between them (silence 3 minutes, just to cool the engines) and then burn it into a CD, three times each track, and play it in a loop at normal level...

Uh oh.

Sweet! Thx for that link!

hmmmmm... Since the only thing that really gets 'broke in' is your ears- Leaving the speakers playing while you are not listening doesn't accomplish anything (except an increased electricity bill.)

And some extra wear and tear on the speaker without any enjoyment from them.

I don't know what the general consensus of the forum is about that topic, and what kind of experience you have on that, and I know the psychological burn in also exist, and placebo effect, and voodoo, and all this, and sorry if this has been discussed before, but you are wrong on that.

Mechanical burn in is a proven fact in many circles, the spiders and the moving parts of the driver, loosen up with the use from the out of the box stiffness to some extend, while changes are less and less noticeable, same as any driver...I have experienced that in heapdhones with two pairs, one brand new, and one used, several times, the out of the box one sounded different, with time and use, they both get to sound identical, to the point of you can not distiguish either one later on, that happen to me several times with heapdhones, with bigger drivers the same happen, same as a new car, after some time it works better...

Why doesn't it stop?

But in rectangles, it's complete bunkum.

Now let's not discuss it any more. It's just one of those audio religious wars waiting to happen.

Because somebody keeps posting?

Look at it this way. The tree fell in his forest. He heard it, we didn't. Does it really matter?

Now where are my M80s dammit?

I'm with Sov here... the compliance of the surround on cone speakers improves from its just-manufactured state after some time of actual use. The amount of time is, far as I can tell different for each driver. After this point, baring abuse, the speaker stays in this broken-in state until time and oxidation start to effect the surround material.

OK, the official word from Axiom is that break in does occur, but it takes a fraction of a second and is completed during the testing phase for each speaker at the factory.

My question remains. If break in occurs and takes a long time, why doesn't it keep happening?

There is no question break-in occurs. Research has shown this to be true. However, what is at issue is whether or not the break-in is audible. From the break-in research "papers" that I have read, the electro-mecahnical differences, although they may appear vast, would never be discriminated in ABX testing.

FYI, i wasn't trying to sound hostile in my post- I just think that leaving pink noise tests constantly running is a little extreme. My m80's sounded perfect straight out of the box!

There are always skeptics and believers in all discussions, and forums I have visited, this is not the first, and will not be the last.
Everybody have their "own religion" regarding certain things in audio. Ones believe in burn in, others in cables, even in cables burn in, and in electronics burn in, other in power cables, others in digital cables, biwiring, others in spikes, wall treatments, cones, pyramids, paints, CD treatments, demagnetizers, etc...

I believe in God, and the rest has to be proved. but I do have experienced first hand, the changes in drivers with use, so I believe in that. Axiom can say whatever they want, and what they believe, they are as human as any of us, andcould beright or wrong as any of us as well. OTOH I have not experienced any difference in cables, then I do not believe in that...simple as that...

Believe now that I'm crazy, or that I'm dumb, I don't care, I'm really hard for placebo, or suggestion, I can tell you that guys, and my hearing is very good, tested and measured...

Mine has not to me, and now I feel it sounds better, maybe I got used to the new presentation, that is one importnat factor that I never ruled out, but there are certain level of details that was not present before, running the same recordings, that I hear them now...they sound like more natural to me...But hwat do we know???



IMO not all drivers change the same way, all depends of the materials used, and manufacture technics, and time of testing, if you torture an speaker 3 days before shipping it, chances are that they are more closer to their final state than others out of the box...

<points finger> Double standard! Double standard!

(I am so very very kidding. )

Interesting stuff... What we think we can hear...

Regarding the official Axiom line, its also interesting to note that they regard their bulk 12-gauge speaker wire to be the perfect connection (with quality connectors) to their speakers. I happen to believe this. But it also means that about $60 (and 20 mins of labor) should get you set up for speaker wire. It would be interesting to know what percentage of us paid more....

I have a Carol Command, made by Belden, OFC cooper silver plated, that Parts Express used to sell, a regular ZIP wire 12AWG, also IIRC Home Depot used to sell it, with some Dayton Bananas, and period...no doubt that with a little more elaboration I could get nicer cables, but nobody will see them anyway...Unless those get rusted, you will not see me getting any other...
As per IC's Blue Jeans Cables all around...

bought my 12 gauge white speaker wire from bluejeans at $0.61/ft and some bananna plugs for my receiver (use bare wire connections into the speakers.)

If I would have realized I could have bought 250' of essentially the same cable from monoprice for $75 I would have done that.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/produc...&seq=1&format=2

I really like my subwoofer cable from bluejeans though- It lays extremely flat along the carpet- not the rigid rubber coating that keeps kinks and bends in it like a coax cable.

If I ever change it will use Canare starquad speaker cable, very flexible and nice looking...and cheap

Bought mine from Monoprice because they had the lowest price for jacketed speaker wire.