Grunt was kind enough to allow me to audition his M80's this morning, and I wanted to post my reactions and see what everyone thought. To try out these speakers, I brought along some Led Zeppelin (bass and dynamics), Pink Floyd (acoustic guitar, drums from "Time," female vocals from "Great Gig in the Sky"), and Eagles (piano and male vocals) to represent what rock music I listen to. For instrumental music, I brought Vivaldi (Four Seasons) and Holst ("Mars" from The Planets).
Overall, I was very impressed by the M80's. In particular, their detail was unlike anything else I've heard. This was particularly apparent to me with Vivaldi; being able to hear each part seperately is not something I can do on my current setup. The drums from Pink Floyd's "Time" were also very impressive in this regard. And now I finally understand what people mean when they talk about a "soundstage."
The power and depth of the bass sounded great to me also, although the clarity seemed less impressive. On the other hand, I'm currently using cheap Panasonic bookshelf speakers, so actually hearing the bass is a little new for me.
As I mentioned above, my favorite speakers from the B&M stores were the Infinity Beta 50's. Since it had been a while since I heard them, I stopped in to listen to them again on my way back from grunt's. Coming right after the M80 audition, it was much easier to see the Beta's weaknesses. I still like them; I just have to agree that the M80s are in a different league.
So, those were my impressions. I'm going to think about it for another day or two, but anticipate placing an order with Axiom. Unfortunately, I'm set on the Boston Cherry finish and am way too cheap to consider NOT buying from the factory, so it looks like I have a 6 week wait ahead of me.
Any thoughts? Disagreements? Anything I might have missed? Advice is always welcome. And thanks again for having me over, grunt.
