Matt - I was skeptical that the LFR-1100 would be a step up from the M100's. I have never liked a bi-polar main speaker, dating back to the 1998-2002 era when I had several different Def Tech Bipolars including the BP-2000 and BP-3000 speakers.
The LFR-1100 is actually available as a complete system, with an option to add a 4 channel ADA-1000 into the same chassis as the DSP for an extra $750.
Basically, it's now a $5000 speaker pair (USD) that is DSP and self powered.
The option for the powered DSP is very new and for most of us that have bought the LFR's in the past, this was never given as an option. Sadly Axiom doesn't do a very good job of giving any descriptions of some of the products that they sell. There are multiple DSP options that come with the LFR (before there was 3) and as there are also no manuals for the units, you are left to guess.
I take it from what I can see, the DSP option you are talking about is a marry between the bottom end DSP1 and some form of an ADA1000 amp. So there is no balanced connectors for the unit, and from the bad photo you do get, it looks like you need to connect it up via a pair of speaker wires, or maybe there is an RCA there too.
I am currently using an Anthem MCA5ii as my amp to power the LFR1100 and the fifth channel to run my VP180.
My question was more direct. You can buy many grades of amplifiers today. Some people swear blind that their $10k+ amp brings their speakers to life, where others say that the built in amp on their receiver does a spectacular job. Yes there are some speakers that are very hard to drive and the difference in a good high current amp is like night and day between muddy and crisp sound.
I don't have the money in my back pocket to experiment and try buying several of these high end amplifiers nor do I have any method to blind test them with myself to see if there is any improvement over the $1000 amp that I currently have. That doesn't mean that I am not curious to know if it is even worth looking into getting a better or more powerful amp for myself some day in the future. I guess that only option I have is to lug my amp up to Axiom and see if they would be interested to demo me the LFR's with their ADA1250 or 1500 with an LFR1100 speaker against my Anthem MCA amp to see if I can hear a difference, or at least enough of one to justify the cost of their amp.
Matt - I understood your question on amps (please don't think I was ignoring your point), and still think the listening test for amps would be better done here with the Legacy's.
For your system ... you mention whether the Axiom amps are worth the cost vs. Anthem. I am looking at Anthem's site, and the PVA-5 is rated at 5 x 105 WPC, all 5 channels driven, into 8 ohms. Retail is $1999 vs. $1332 for the ADA-1005 rated at 5 x 125 WPC into 8 ohms.
The Anthem P5 is rated at 5 x 325 WPC into 8 ohms for $8499 vs. the ADA-1500-5 at 5 x 300 WPC into 8 ohms for $3150.
Amps cost a lot more everywhere these days. Even Outlaw and Emotiva are getting more $$$$.
That being said - You are a lot closer to a lot of Ontario audio guys than I am. The switcher I have is pretty portable. Maybe we could have a GTG at your place, or someone else's place in the GTA this winter, and I could bring the switcher.
I can offer this based on experience - the amp test will be the LEAST likely test to have major results. Listening for differences in amps, under blind conditions, is almost always guesswork.
When the guys at Home Theater Shack did such a test last year, one guy got it right 5 out of 7 times, and the rest were below 50 percent. The guy who got it right 5 out of 7 times was upset when it was pointed out to him that one out of 6 guys guessing it right 71 percent of the time while everyone else was below 50 percent was just the law of averages.
We would have a far more useful time spent blind testing speakers.
To your point about Axiom and issues with product, agreed. For example - when ordering the DSP/AMP combo, I know from ordering that one can get balanced inputs, RCA inputs ... etc ... There are so many options available, but this concept is not conveyed nearly to the point it should be.
Go look, as a small example, the EP350 page. It shows one with two ports - I think this was the V.2 ... then a slot port for the V.3.
The V.4 has triple ports, newer driver, newer amp designed by Andrew ... etc ... and not a single test done on it in its current configuration.
Based on my experience with 12 inch ported subs, I find pretty much ALL of them to have port chuffing issues because they are tuned too low with too small a port. Andrew is pretty confident an EP350 is almost impossible to make sound bad.
After discussions about the design of the EP350 V.4, I am ordering one to find out how it does in a real listening room against an SVS PC-2000.
There is a LOT Axiom could do in terms of delivering their message. They just need someone to coordinate it.
SO ... Let me know if you want to have a GTG in January or February, when we are all freezing and bored.
