Thanks for the welcome and all the replies.
You guys are funny, maybe I should have put another 'very' or two in front of "limited budget". I wish I could afford something like the m80.
I've been watching movies on a 19" crt monitor for three years while I researched, saved and waited for the right price point on the right tv. I'm either very patient or nuts.
I was really hoping someone here might have had a listen to the Advents I mentioned at some point, and be able to peg them compared to some of the Axiom speakers. That would have helped me establish some sort of baseline for my "budget".
Tom, I think you are on the right track and a little more info is in order. Right now my music is mostly mp3 with a few cds. Unbeknownst to me, my brother gave away all the vinyl last year. In the long run, I will match the music format to my future system. The goal here is listening enjoyment.
Budget and time are somewhat fluid. It really depends on what I decide is the minimum sound I can live with. Form factor dosn't matter. I was reading a review of the m22 on audioholics.com and thought these speakers would be an ideal start until they mentioned the "anemic base"
The amp is part of the buying cycle. Speakers first, everything else follows...
Viewing is mostly me and my son. Considering what I am upgrading from, he (and I) will be blown away by the tv, even without surround.
Some other questions:
Just how big is big enough for the room size I mentioned? I would have thought that M80s would be too big for my space. By the time I crank the amp to a level to properly drive the speakers I would think that the neighbours might just object.
I do have concrete floors, but wouldn't the sound from a sub travel beyond my apartment? I find it increadibly annoying when someone pulls next to me with a woofer with wheels attached... er ... a car with woofers installed.
Reading some articles by the chief marketing dude at Axiom (actually, a couple of other sources as well) left me with the impression that surround was a definate step up from sterio with the right source material. Is that perhaps assuming that the system has a solid set of fronts (ie: more than bookshelf speakers)??
I happen to live in Canada a scant 5 hours away from Axiom and love canoing, so a visit and a listen is in order this spring if need be.
If M60s really are the starting point, its gonna be a while... hmm... I think I need to pick up a couple of good reference cds and go listening to get some idea of what I can live with.
Fred
