Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners another m80/ m60 thread!

I have been perusing through many m80/m60 posts the last couple of days but felt the need to post a new one. (Sorry!)

After an audition of the epic 80/600 system last weekend, (Thanks Haylo!) I am debating over the m80's or m60's. (look back a couple of months and you will see me debating over m22's and m60's... go back even further and you will see me debating Klipsch or Axiom... at least I am comming to my senses!)

Let me say that I was absolutely 100% impressed with all of the axiom speakers. The QS8's were especially nice sounding. I was surprised at the amount of bass they were able to put out.

anyway, I really liked the sound of the M80's for most of the music we listened too. I absolutley loved the clarity and detail of the M80's during movie scenes and when listening to a couple of tracks from Dave Matthew's band 'Stand Up' album. I did think that the M80's were a bit bright for some of the music at LOUD volumes (Tool for example) but this is probably a function of the recording quality. I do have a lot of poorly recorded music so this will be somewhat of an issue.

If I go with the M60's I just wonder how much detail I will be missing for movies and well recorded music. On the other hand I kind of like the idea of a speaker that is a little more laid back for some of the poorer recordings I own. BUT, I don't think it is right to 'trap' the sound of a great recording into the speaker just to cover up a poor recording during a different listening session.


M80's are only $300 more per pair through the factory outlet, but amplification may play an issue. Haylo had a bad experience with his onkyo 805 and purchased the axiom amp, which I definitely can not afford.

I read on the boards that denon AVR's can typically drive the m80's with no problem.

I am looking at the Denon AVR 888 which is priced at $750,
link here:
avr 888

The only thing i don't like is this receiver does not have pre-outs if I wanted to add a seperate amp at a later date.
Does anyone here use a similar denon model (a sub $1,000 version) to drive their m80's?

So basically the questions I have are:

Do you think a $750 100wpc Denon AVR could play the M80s loud without problems or do you need a separate amp to play the M80's at loud volumes?

Do you have any other recomendations on receivers that would work for either the m80 or m60?

for those that have heard both m60's and m80's: Do you feel like the m60 is SERIOUSLY lacking in clarity and detail in comparison to the m80? Or is it more of a subtle difference as alan has described in one of the posts i read?

If you had never heard the m60's, but have heard and liked the sound ofthe m80's, would you be dissapointed if you purchased the m60?

any comments will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

T, again my comment is that no receiver will necessarily have a problem driving the M80 or any other speaker nominally rated at 4ohms. The receiver doesn't know what the rated impedance of the speaker is; it has to supply a certain amount of voltage to allow a certain amount of current at a given sound level. Depending on how high the sound level is and how long it continues, no problem may develop with any receiver. An extreme example of this is Mojo's use of a boombox amp of possibly 2 watts or so to drive his M80s(but not at an extremely high level). The 888(essentially identical to the 2308)should have no problem in most applications with the M80s. Another receiver that you might consider is the Onkyo 705.

Note that Alan's comment relating to the M60 and M80, which you mention, doesn't indicate even a subtle difference in "clarity and detail", but rather the subtle difference referred to bass extention and maximum loudness capability.

Have you read this thread? Or any of the others I have written lately about my thoughts of the M60/M82? The M82 gives you the best of both worlds, IMO, something you may want to consider.

If you must have only one, I would pick, and am getting, the M80s over the M60s alone. Reasons why are here.

I wouldn't say the clarity isn't there with the M60s, it's just that you really have to listen for it, opposed to the M80s presenting it right in front of you. To me it is more the M60s are recessed/slightly less than neutral, and the M80s are forward in there presentation of mids and high frequencies, which gives the listener the impression of less or more detail. Forward sounding is easier to hear those mids and highs as they are not hidden by the lower frequencies. It is a tough decision and only you can make it.

So far as the Amp goes Onkyo(older ones as the newer top end appears to have no issues as evidenced by a few threads here)have had issues and were not a recommended receiver for the M80s by Axiom. The only thing I have noticed with the AVR888 Denon is the total THD is a little higher for this series opposed to the AVRXX08 series. Denons are a recommended receivers for the M80s. I have an older 1804(was sub $1000cdn when I bought it in Dec. 03) and with the M82, which is a 4ohm load, this receiver still pushes out the power, no clipping, no problems.

JohnK, Thanks for the correction.

Jakewash, unfortunately the M82 is not an option.

Basically what it boils down to is I need to make a decision. I suppose that none of you can do that for me!

I am now looking to buy the speakers closer to Christmas time.

also, something must be wrong with the search feature... when I type in m80 or m60 it brings up not results...

Thanks again for the comments.

Johnk,

Thanks for the correction on Alan's comments. I guess I read it too fast and misunderstood.

I will go out on a limb that like me, with out having that detail all the time, you will feel that you are indeed missing something, go for the M80s.

Does that help?

If you are on the fence go with the M80's, many of us started with the 60's then succumbed to upgraditis. Imo just get the best and don't look back.

I wouldn't say its a matter of the M80s being better, more so it's the M60s offering the more laid back sound vs the forward M80s. I think there is a bit of learning curve, if you will, in that once you get used to a detailed speaker ala M60, it becomes easier to accept the forward sound of the M80s and appreciate the easier it is to hear the subtlties.

M80s all the way...if you can't do M82s .