M80's + LPA-1: They're ALIVE!! - Axiom Message Boards

Kudos Axiom. You said my speakers would arrive on Friday, and here it is Thursday and they're all set up in my den.

I'll post a more detailed comparison/review tomorrow after I get everything calibrated correctly, but so far, the M80's are fantastic. Soundstage is incredible, depth and sparkle is outstanding, and the rich, full sound that I've been craving is there. So much more presence than the M22's.

Also bought the Emotiva LPA-1 amp, as I needed something to drive the 4-ohm M80's. This is my first experience owning a dedicated amplifier, and even with really crummy RCA cables (soon to be corrected) I can most definitely tell a difference. Powered by my Pioneer (yeah, I had to try it even though it's not rated to drive 4ohm loads), the M80's sound introverted, cold, and just plain weak. With the LPA, they sound like they should - bold, powerful, and spacious. Heck, even my old M22's sound better powered with this thing - significantly improved bass response compared to the Pioneer! I'm amazed!!

I'd be scared to hear these things on Emotiva's top of the line MPS!

Glad you got a good amp for them M80's, they really are wasted otherwise.

Get decent RCA cables but don't spend too much. Anything well terminated and well shielded will do, no need to get those $100 Monster cables. I used Radio Shack cables that I paid about $25 for 3, and they're more than good enough.

Well, the RCA cables I'm using tonight/tomorrow are some leftover ones from my 'miscellaneous cables' box. Literally the kind that come free with a CD player, VCR, etc. They're pretty thin and skinny

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No, I don't intend on buying $100 cables.

Pete, doesn't matter how thin they are unless the run would be hundreds of feet or unusually severe EMI(highly unlikely)made a more heavily shielded coaxial cable desirable. Generally, if the RCA plugs fit well, that's all that can be asked of the cables.

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Pete, doesn't matter how thin they are unless the run would be hundreds of feet or unusually severe EMI(highly unlikely)made a more heavily shielded coaxial cable desirable. Generally, if the RCA plugs fit well, that's all that can be asked of the cables.

Yeah, but, they don't look as cool!

I think we're gonna need some pics of your gear, Pete. What do you say?

Pete - check monoprice for some excellent cable choices that are priced incredibly low.

Sounds like you have found audio-bliss. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and impressions. I'm sure the system will please for many years to come.

Congrats.

>>So much more presence than the M22's.>>

Lets be nice now...

Actually I'm impressed at how good the M22's are compared to the M80's. Seriously. The M80's have more presence in the room, and are more faithful at reproducing that 'whole orchestra spread out in front of you' feeling. They have better bass response, obviously, but everything else about them is just like a bigger, meaner M22.

I love the M80's, they're not going back, but these showcase just how damn fine the M22's really are. There's nothing wrong with M22's at all, and I will continue to use mine as rear surrounds as I do a lot of surround SACD listening.

I can say one thing for sure: dedicated amplification rocks. I have a pretty decent receiver. Not the worst, certainly not the best - but a solid receiver. There is most definitely a difference in powering even the m22's with the dedicated amp vs. the receiver. I don't think I will ever go back to a non-dedicated amplifier system.

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>>So much more presence than the M22's.>>

Lets be nice now...

Congrats Peter,

You should hear my m80's with my Emotiva MPS-1.

I started with just two monoblocks for now to drive the 80's and can easily upgrade the center and surrounds at a later time. Gotta love 300 watts into 4 ohms.

Ok, quit it you guys! You are going to cause me a world of hurt when my wife see's the Visa bill for a new amp (that according to her) I didn't need!

I can sure relate, I'm still trying to justify my new system in Ebony with an ep600 and 80v2's.

I know I know, bring on the pics....

I can only imagine the beauty of the piano black.... But I still want those amps!!

You, sirquack, are actually to blame for that amp. It is entirely your fault.

I hadn't heard of Emotiva until I saw your pix of your MPS-1 a couple of weeks ago. Fell in love with the look of it. Tons of research later, I decided that I wanted to give Emotiva a shot at powering my M80's. I couldn't resist the $499 LPA-1. Perhaps I'll need to take a road trip to Iowa. I'll bring the LPA along and we can compare the two!

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Congrats Peter,

You should hear my m80's with my Emotiva MPS-1. I started with just two monoblocks for now to drive the 80's and can easily upgrade the center and surrounds at a later time. Gotta love 300 watts into 4 ohms.

Shawn, I didn't go with the Piano Gloss Black, to expensive. I went with the custom vinyl shop in Ebony.

For $200 more bucks you could've got an MPS-1 with 2 mono's to start.

I've heard great things about the LPA-1.....

Oh yeah, I know.

I had emailed Emotiva asking about an MPS with just 2 modules. I was close to ordering it. I decided that the LPA should be sufficient for my needs. So far, it's fantastic.

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For $200 more bucks you could've got an MPS-1 with 2 mono's to start.

I've heard great things about the LPA-1.....

Man I have to get one of these amps already!

Peter, with the 4ohm M80's, does your amp put out a lot of heat? Or is it running cool? Just wondering that's all.

The amp has been on and running my whole system for about 7 hours straight now, with volume levels ranging from quiet background to 'listen to THIS!' levels. Right now we're watching TV at moderate level, DPLII - so all speakers powered. Ambient room temp is 68, using my wife's oven thermometer lying on top of the amp, it's reading 82.

Seriously, for $500 (with shipping!) this thing really does seem to be a steal. Again my first experience with a discrete amplifier, so I don't have anything to compare. But I'm QUITE happy with it.

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Man I got to get one of these amps already!

Peter, with the 4ohm M80's, does your amp put out a lot of heat? Or is it running cool? Just wondering that's all.

Oh boy, it's amp envy time.

Seriously, I'm a little confused by this news. I was always under the impression that an efficient speaker, like the M22, wouldn't gain anything from further amplification vs a respectable AVR alone. After reading this, am I to conclude that this impression is completely wrong?

I don't know what to say either. I A/B compared the M80's and the M22's, both powered by the amp. I thought I was nuts, because the M22's seemed better with the amp. More authoritative bass, more presence, spacious, better depth. So I played around with all of my speaker/power combinations and came to the conclusion that the M22's sound quality did move up a notch when powered by the amp.

It wasn't a huge difference, but I really do think that the M22's benefit from the dedicated amplifier. I'm not an expert, so don't take my word for it!

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Oh boy, it's amp envy time. Seriously, I'm a little confused by this news. I was always under the impression that an efficient speaker, like the M22, wouldn't gain anything from further amplification vs a respectable AVR alone. After reading this, am I to conclude that this impression is completely wrong?