Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners RX-V2600 and M80's (hopefully)

gman, I think you should go with the M60Ti, this way you can save your money to buy the EP500 instead of the 350. The sub is playing a MAJOR role for movies, buy a copy of War Of The World and do some tests to see what I mean

At first I bought the HSU STF-2 to match the M22Ti because my budget was limited, then I have finally decided to upgrade to the M60Ti. I will probably upgrade my Sub next spring for the EP500 as my brother is planing to buy an Axiom setup. (Maybe I'll be able to sell him my STF-2 )

The STF-2 is a great Sub (my whole house is shaking with War Of the World.) but from what I read the EP500 is major improvement.

For the M60Ti, they are perfect for music! (even at high volume.) I'm not using the Sub for music as I prefer the Pure Direct mode, IMO imaging is a lot better in Pure Direct than Stereo. (Last night I was listening Pink Floyd - The Final Cut and the difference was obvious as I was switching back and forth between the 2 modes.)

Patrick

The Denon will make the 80s rattle the walls. My son has a 3805 as well which he uses for B&W 703s. The 703s are not as efficient as the 80s and yet he gets plenty of volume.

If budget is an issue, get the 60s and the 500. If not, the 80s and the 500. But. Get the 500!

If I did it again, I would get the 2805 and monoblocks.

Thank you to everyone for their great comments/suggestions.

John, I came up with the "half their load" on my own! I was assuming that since the M80s can handle a max load of 400W, and figured the 2600 could deliver around 200+W @ 4 ohms - I was looking at half the potential load. Did I understand you correctly in stating that it would require *1* Watt to listen at a comfortable level in a room with my dimensions? Wow, I was expecting a bit larger number! So, I'm guessing if I was somehow able to pump 400W to each M80, everyone would become instantly deaf?

As far as the sub goes, the EP600 seems like probably overkill for me (and my budget). And I'm afraid I would want to upgrade the EP350 after no too long. I think I'm settled on getting the EP500, thanks to the people here and the fantastic reviews.

However, I still haven't decided on the M60s/M80s just yet.

Do the M80s offer any additional depth or definition over the M60s? Or do the M80s really only offer the capability to achieve louder sound levels?

Please bear with me, I'm just trying to make the most educated decision possible since I'll probably have these speakers for a long, long time!

One other side question ... has anyone had experience with buying from the factory outlet? I've read the quality of the speakers is great. I'm curious about the time it's been taking to fill the orders. Are the wait periods accurate?

Thanks,
Paul

An audition may be the only way to tell. Or a home trial.

If you are going to have the speakers for a long, long time, just get the M80s and be done with it.

Okay Paul, I see where that phrase came from, but actually the maximum power rating on speakers doesn't have much to do with reaching their full potential, rather it's theoretically the power that could be handled continuously without going up in smoke(Alan has reported that Axiom has actually tested it to over a thousand watts). Note also the suggested 10 watt minimum(not just 1/40th potential), which would actually be adequate for listening at a moderately loud level to program material which didn't have extreme dynamic levels.

Yes, 1 watt would be used for a comfortably loud average listening level at a normal listening position. The rated sensitivity in-room is 95dB for 1 watt at a listening distance of one meter. At a more typical distance of 10-15' this might drop to about 85dB, still quite loud. A much quieter part around 65dB would use about 1/100th watt, a 105dB peak would use about 100 watts(10dB more output requires ten times the power).

Paul, I don't know where you live but I have both the 80s and the 60s so if you care to drop by for a comparison listen you're more than welcome. Also I bought my EP600 from the FO and the thing looks brand new with nary the first scratch or indication that it came from the FO. Some have said their particular shipping date was well ahead of the Axiom's proposed ship date, my delivery date was dead on what I was told.

Reading through the gist of your post here I'd suggest the 80s simply because if you do not I'm visualizing you as the type of person who will be questioning your decision and you'll end up sending a pair of 60s back to Axiom for trade up to the 80s. My preference? The 80s.

BrotherBob, thanks for the offer to audition the speakers. Unfortunately, I live in Texas.

Since I do live in Texas, everything's suppose to be big and the M80s seemed to fit the bill as far as having the biggest sound potential. But ... after talking with Alan Lofft I've finally made my decision to go with the M60s (along with the VP150, QS8s, and the EP500). The factory outlet was tempting, but I get my Panasonic projector delivered today, and my receiver and theater seating are just waiting around. I can't wait a month+ to get the Axioms!

As was the advice of people in this thread, it seems the best decision is to go ahead and audition the M60s (and trade up to the M80s if it's necessary). I might just need to use the grill covers on the M60s and pretend they're M80s.

To pass on information I got while talking with Alan, he said it would be very difficult to tell the difference between the M60s and M80s with the EP500 running, at least in my room (3300cf). Without the EP500, running in stereo I would be able to tell the difference with more bass coming from the M80s (larger cabinet). I'll most likely be running the EP500 most of the time, so I decided to use the extra money towards my projector screen - once I figure out my screen size - hopefully tonight!

Thanks everyone!

gman,

Let us know when you have received and completed your setup..

Before seeing this message board, I had made all the same product choices for my new home theater/Music room that I'll be getting very shortly.

.. Being the Yamaha RX-V2600, Axiom M60s, QS8, VP150 & EP500 in a 5:1 configuration for now, along with the Panasonic PT-AE900U projector..

Let me know if you're happy with everything you got or will be getting..

I should be ordering everything before year-end..

On my side, I'm very confident with these final choices.. (I did also hesitate a bit re. M80s. The M60s will be perfect I'm sure).

I also did not chose the type of projector screen yet.. I wanted to see first in a 16ft room (14,5 ft projection I guest), the projection width. Would a 92in screen be too wide? I don't know..


Michel

Hi Michael,

I'm still working on getting everything setup. I did receive my speakers from axiom and I am very pleased!

As to the screen, I ordered a 144" Carada screen with a 2.05 aspect ratio, and am hoping to get it before Christmas. My back row sits at around 17' feet away. Before ordering my screen, I picked up a 4'x8' (107" diagonal - 2.0 aspect ratio) whiteboard for around $11 to check out what size I would need (or really how big was too big). I read from various places, as I'm sure you have as well, that you should sit back, at a minimum, somewhere between 1.5 to 2.0 times the screen width. I knew I wasn't going to be able to make the definitive decision on my screen size without checking this out for myself and verifying with my own eyes what would work best for me. I wouldn't think that 92" would be too large for the distance your sitting at, but that's all subjective of course. BTW, the PT-AE900U is awesome - definitely no SDE! I'll update you after I do a true "test" when I get my screen mounted.

Good news, the end of the year is just about here! (time to order your stuff ).

- gman