m50 to m80 upgrade questions
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 7
regular
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OP
regular
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 7 |
hello all,
Purchased my m50's about a year ago and am still very happy with them. Just so happens though that my parents are looking for speakers and the m50's may be perfect for them. They owe me some cash so i figure maybe give them my 50's and put the extra towards getting me some m80's. I am currently powering them with an h/k avr430 and they are just fine but the last couple house parties i've had i wished i could crank them up a little bit more but seemed to run out of room. Would m80's help here or would the sound just be a little fuller? Is the avr430 not going to cut it at loud levels? I've read that the h/k's should take the 4ohm load no problem and give me a little more wattage as well. Room size varies as for each party i seem to set up the house a little differently.
Thanks for the info.
-adrian
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Re: m50 to m80 upgrade questions
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,301
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,301 |
Adrian, although I've never heard the 50's, I have owned th 60's and the 80's, I'm guessing since the 80's will play louder and fuller than the 60's, you would probably see quite a bit of difference bettween the 80's and the 50's in terms of volume and filling the room.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
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Re: m50 to m80 upgrade questions
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 6,379 Likes: 7
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 6,379 Likes: 7 |
It depends on whether the speakers or the amplifier is the limiting factor right now. It's kinda hard to describe the difference in sound and swapping in borrowed equipment is usually the best way to tell. EDIT -- also, you don't want to be running the system at the limits and trying to figure out what kind of distortion you are hearing -- that's how you damage stuff If the speakers are hitting their limits first, ie they are starting to sound "compressed" and not getting much louder as you turn up the volume, the M80s will make a huge difference. If the receiver is the limit (sound starts noticeably distorting at high volumes) then you should see a "noticeable" improvement in headroom with M80s but not "night and day". There are two factors which will make a difference if the receiver is the limit : Sensitivity -- 91 dB vs. 89 dB anechoic (borderline noticeable) Impedence -- the M80s are 4 ohm (vs. 8 ohm for M50s) so will, if everyone will pardon the simplification, "suck more power out of the receiver" for a given volume control setting and internal power supply voltage. This should be good for another 2-3 dB, also borderline noticeable on its own Combined, you should get about a 4-5 dB difference which is roughly "another twist of the volume control". Again, this assumes that the receiver is the limiting factor, not the speakers. Also, if the receiver is the limit and you are not running a subwoofer now that is another option to consider. Adding a sub and running the M50s/80s in "small" would strip off the lowest (and most power hungry) frequencies, typically letting you play the remaining frequencies at noticeably higher volumes. EDIT -- but M80s are really cool;) I would be leaning towards the 80s in your situation, assuming the 50s will fit in their new home. I'm running a 630 with M60s and I don't think the per-channel power difference between HK 430 and 630 is significant. If you are hitting the limits with your current system then you probably play pretty loud and are going to eventually add a power amp AND upgrade the speakers. Amplifiers seem to get better and cheaper every year, but speaker prices seem to be stable or trending up slightly...
Last edited by bridgman; 06/06/06 08:46 PM.
M60ti, VP180, QS8, M2ti, EP500, PC-Plus 20-39 M5HP, M40ti, Sierra-1 LFR1100 active, ADA1500-4 and -8
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Re: m50 to m80 upgrade questions
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 828
aficionado
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aficionado
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 828 |
------------------------------------------------ Leave the gun, Take the canolis.
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Re: m50 to m80 upgrade questions
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833 |
Quote:
If you are hitting the limits with your current system then you probably play pretty loud and are going to eventually add a power amp AND upgrade the speakers.
That's the ticket, upgrade both. I'm serious.
Rick
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud
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Re: m50 to m80 upgrade questions
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 2,339
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 2,339 |
I agree with Wid. Really loud means M80s and amplification, but you'd be suprised how little power it takes to drive the 80s.
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Re: m50 to m80 upgrade questions
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,210
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,210 |
Adrian I don't know your particular setup as far as surrounds and center but another possibility is if you are considering the M80s you may want to also consider a two-channel amp connected with the current receiver to drive the 80s and use the AVR 430 for the rest of your system.
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Re: m50 to m80 upgrade questions
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 7
regular
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OP
regular
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 7 |
thanks for the help guys. I actually only have the 2 m50's for now. I do have m22's but not part of that system. ( not sure if they would work anywhere, another thread later . I'm thinking i will go for the m80's to just make sure that the only thing i'll need in the future is more power. I bought the m50's when i really did want the 60's/80's but couldn't justify the extra $ at the time. now's a good chance to fix that. Also a sub will come later but for some reason i tend to like the sound from full range speakers for the type of music i listen to (electronic). adrian
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Re: m50 to m80 upgrade questions
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,034
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,034 |
Quote:
thanks for the help guys. I actually only have the 2 m50's for now. I do have m22's but not part of that system. ( not sure if they would work anywhere, another thread later . I'm thinking i will go for the m80's to just make sure that the only thing i'll need in the future is more power. I bought the m50's when i really did want the 60's/80's but couldn't justify the extra $ at the time. now's a good chance to fix that.
Also a sub will come later but for some reason i tend to like the sound from full range speakers for the type of music i listen to (electronic).
adrian
This is kinda sad, really.
Something I would really like to know:
How are the M50s selling?
I understand that only one in ten folks who buy floorstanders buy M50s.
Out of those; I wonder how many actually buy the M50s when they'd really rather have the M60s or 80s, but the wallet gets in the way?
And now with the v2 M60s pulling in far fewer complaints these days about sibilance or brightness(when WAS the last time someone asked about resistors, anyway?)it's getting harder and harder to recommend the M50s. I know it's been a long time since I began qualifying each M50 question with a counter question about the purchasers' financial situation.
Not to start a flame er....scirmish, but I wonder if the M60 has been pulled a little closer to the uh, "Pleasant side"?
I suspect that; were I buying speakers today.... Rich.
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Re: m50 to m80 upgrade questions
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,458
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,458 |
I'm actually considering a pair of M50s. I think they would be nice down in my studio for XM, etc...
As I've said here many times in the past, I've wanted to try M3s to see how they would handle "less than stellar" recordings and sources, but I've found myself thinking that if it was music only (no HT) and very deep bass wasn't needed, the M50s would probably do very nicely instead of M3s...
::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
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