Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Stereo Speaker Advice

I'm an online research freak with a mantra of "buy the best... within budget". That's how I ended up on the Axiom forums. The fact that I've read that the M80s have a fuller sound than the M60s has my internal yin and yang embroiled in an M60 vs M80 battle.

So you have the M60 v1? Do you know what Axiom has changed in v2? Maybe they tweaked the mids and highs to be slightly more prominent?

But you're right... I probably wouldn't know what I'm missing (if anything) with the M60s. The problem is all I've got to go on right now are forum user opinions and reviews. I haven't heard what the M60s (or M80s) are capable of. Are there any M60/M80 users in the Toronto, Canada area that can give me an audition? I'll bring the beer...

Lots of M60/M80 owners in the Toronto area. Check here and you can also email Axiom about possible owners not on the list that are willing to audition. ususally a PM to the person is in order.

You are not too far away from Axiom, you could go up there on a long weekend road trip and listen first hand to ALL they have to offer right at the factory, just call them to set up a date.

No, I have M22v1's, the M60s I had were v2s as are my M80s. Having recently A/B'd my M22v1's to the M22v2s, my v1's were noticeably more forward/open than the v2's.

How big is your room, and how loud do you listen?

The M60's are terrific speakers. I think your room configuration is going to make more of a difference than going from the 60's to the 80's. I have the M60's and have heard the M80's at another forum member's home.

My choice between the M80 and M60 came down to my unwillingness to tempt fate with my Onkyo. I was told (by Alan, I believe), that I should be OK with the M80's as long as I didn't push them too hard. I'm pretty sure I would have been fine in my room, but I also feel that I'm not missing anything by going with the M60's. And I have piece of mind that I can crank it up without fear.

Chris I had m60's for 2 years in my 8,000 cu ft room and they are awesome. I do own the 80's now, but there is no reason to worry about the sound of the 60's, very similar to the 80's.

Chris, I agree with Jay, give Axiom a call and tell them you would like to come up to hear the M80s and 60s (and 22s for that matter). That way you'll hear them all at the same time so you can make a more informed decision. There are people who will have one or the other, but not too many who have both or all three, so you won't really be able to compare properly.

No, Chris; the people who ran a lab test on the 606(see the excellent HomeTheater Magazine lab test and review)don't "know" of this 4 ohm problem either. Note the substantial power measured into 4 ohms at the more realistic 2-channels driven standard measurement. Many owners report using similar receivers with satisfaction on speakers more difficult to drive than the M80s.

In my view it's an excess of caution to allow the choice of receiver to veto the choice of speaker. A problem shouldn't be assumed that may never develop if the equipment is used sensibly.

You crack me up John, used sensibly, who would ever use their system sensibly, are we not suppose to turn it to 11 all the time?

Does anyone have a receiver that goes up to...twww-eeelll-vvve!

John, can you please "dumb down" the HomeTheaterMag review results for me? Is "two channels driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 115.3 watts and 1 percent distortion at 141.4 watts. Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 162.9 watts and 1 percent distortion at 222.1 watts" a good thing?

One thing I didn't take into account is mixing 4 ohm(M80) and 8 ohm(QS8, VP150) speakers together in a surround sound setup. Is that even possible with my receiver? My inner voice is telling me to lean towards M60s at this point. At the same time it's wondering why M60 owners more often than not tend to eventually upgrade to M80s...

Oh well... I think I'll take Jay's advice and plan a road trip to Axiom and let my ears decide. As soon as we get some good weather here in Toronto, that is... Maybe June???