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M80 v2's Arrived. Happy but slight issue.
#239935 01/13/09 05:01 PM
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Dear Axiom and Axiom Friends,
I have been eagerly awaiting and putting aside cash to purchase my first set of Axiom Audio M80 v2's for weeks now and they finally arrived a few days after xmas. I am having a slight issue with the speakers, but I am sure it has to do with my setup so let me explain. (Please excuse the non-audiophile terms)

I am using a Creative Xfi Elite Pro as my pre-amp processor for movies, music, and gaming which outputs to a Luxman MX-100 Amp. The amp is about 20 years old and has a rated stereo (non bridged) power output of 140 X 2 at 8 ohms, or a bridged power output of 300 X 1. The AMP is most definitely an 8-ohm amp and I know the M80's are 4-ohm.

That is the setup. Now the issues. First off, there is an RMS wattage monitor right on the Classic Lux amp. When I am listening to music at low volume levels (less than 20 watt stereo bass peaks) the sound I must say is much different than anything I have ever experienced. At first I thought there was a problem with the audio track, until I listened over and over again to the songs and realized these were just instruments that I have never heard before in the songs. I am truly impressed and find a wonderfully warm and bright feeling to all of my music. Makes you want to just sit back and smoke a nice cuban cigar, drink a glass of cabernet.

Back on topic, as soon as there are any Bass Peaks of more than 45 watts, the low and mid drivers start "farting" and it is a violent fart sound. (excuse the non-audiophile lingo), so I have to immediately turn the audio down on my pre-amp. I can tell there is a lot of potential to be un-tapped on these speakers and I am hoping this is the issue because I have noticed after a good 5 minutes of usage the Luxman amp runs so hot you could cook an egg on top of it(where-as it never did this on my old polk 8 ohm setup):

I am hoping that this is just a slight issue with the 4-ohm load of the M80's clipping the power output on the 20 year old luxman 8 ohm amp.

Please someone verify!!!

Very kind regards,

Dominick V. Strippoli
Owner, SVTSnake.com
http://www.svtsnake.com

Re: M80 v2's Arrived. Happy but slight issue.
Dominick #239939 01/13/09 05:04 PM
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Hard to say, but if there's some way you could try them with a different amp, I'd do it. I'm not sure how the speaker in and of itself could produce that noise, unless one of the drivers is loose. Can you reproduce it with a single speaker, or does it definitely happen with both?


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Re: M80 v2's Arrived. Happy but slight issue.
Dominick #239940 01/13/09 05:07 PM
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Hi Dominick,

The speakers cannot "clip the amp"; if you overdrive the amplifier, it will clip and send a distorted signal to the speakers.

Are you listening at very high volumes?

My sense is that the soundcard you are using may not be providing the right voltage to the amplifier, requiring you to overdrive the amp. I strongly suspect a pre-amp configuration issue rather than something wrong with either the amp or the speakers.


bibere usque ad hilaritatem
Re: M80 v2's Arrived. Happy but slight issue.
Dominick #239941 01/13/09 05:10 PM
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Hey Dominick,

I'm sure one of the more technical guys will jump in here in a minute. Not sure about the "farting" sounds, that is a new one for the 80's. \:\) And yes, they can handled more power and play louder than you can imagine when driven with compatible equipment. I'm sure your pre and amp are great equipment, but the heat you describe sounds like what happens when some people use lower end Onkyos, Yammys, etc..

Do you have access to another receiver just for a test? Maybe a neighbor or friend could bring one over...


M80s VP180 4xM22ow 4xM3ic EP600 2xEP350
AnthemAVM60 Outlaw7700 EmoA500 Epson5040UB FluanceRT85


Re: M80 v2's Arrived. Happy but slight issue.
tomtuttle #239942 01/13/09 05:11 PM
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Thanks for the responses guys. Tom, what you said in the last sentence in your paragraph has also been on my mind all last night.

Well, I have an Emotiva XPA-3 coming to me by the end of this week which is beefy enough to supply a 400 X 2 stereo load at 4-ohms. So, if it is still making the noise I am definitely going to suspect a pre-amp configuration. Any other ideas?

Re: M80 v2's Arrived. Happy but slight issue.
Dominick #239943 01/13/09 05:21 PM
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I'm kind of assuming that the unpleasantness you're hearing is either cone distortion or port noise.

I like Ken's idea about verifying the source of the noise (cone v. port, both speakers?).

You either have a defective product (somewhat unlikely, especially if they sound excellent up to a certain volume) or you're feeding the speakers a highly distorted signal.

The XPA-3 might very well solve the problem, if it tolerates a wider range of input voltage than the Luxman (quite possible). However, I still suspect something wonky with the sound card; to really screw things up requires a computer \:\) I would try to find (or borrow to test) a solution that offloads the audio processing into the component realm; just send the digital audio (either optical or coaxial) from your computer to a receiver or other processor and control it from there.

The key to solving your problem is to simplify the path from the signal to the speakers, and to remove the sound card from that equation to ascertain whether it is the culprit.


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Re: M80 v2's Arrived. Happy but slight issue.
tomtuttle #239944 01/13/09 05:24 PM
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WAIT!!! I remembered that I tried a different pre-amp signal also. I used a standard I-Pod Nano 4GB with a line out to dual RCA plug and it still farted under higher volumes. I have a HUGE feeling it is my luxman amp right now. If you remember, the amp NEVER got as hot as it is now, ever. Period.

Wow, the response time is incredible on this forum. This looks like a solid bunch of guys over here. Thank you!

Re: M80 v2's Arrived. Happy but slight issue.
Dominick #239946 01/13/09 05:29 PM
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"Solid" sounds like "dense". That's about right.

The IPod experience is not compelling, to me. "Line Out" signals are still a different voltage than a proper pre-amp might provide.


bibere usque ad hilaritatem
Re: M80 v2's Arrived. Happy but slight issue.
tomtuttle #239947 01/13/09 05:30 PM
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OK, what else do you suggest I try before I get the Emotiva?

Thanks again!

Last edited by Dominick; 01/13/09 05:30 PM.
Re: M80 v2's Arrived. Happy but slight issue.
Dominick #239948 01/13/09 05:35 PM
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do you have an old receiver laying around your not using anymore?


M80s VP180 4xM22ow 4xM3ic EP600 2xEP350
AnthemAVM60 Outlaw7700 EmoA500 Epson5040UB FluanceRT85


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