Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions M80 v2 active drivers

Are the M80's still using active drivers? At least I think I recall at one point they were.

Regardless, I'm curious...what's the difference and benefit of active vs passive drivers? Is that how the M80 achieves it's great efficiency, making it relatively easy to drive, especially for a 4ohm speaker? Does it add or enhance anything to the actual sound reproduction?

Unless we have a different definition of active drivers, the M80s never used active drivers. As I understand active speakers, they have an amplifier built in.

Active drivers have voicecoil, passive don't.
Active drivers does not mean active speakers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_radiator_(speaker)

Well, by that definition, yes, all the drivers in M80s are active. You'd be hard pressed to find a speaker that was all passive radiators!

The only speaker in the Axiom lineup that I'm aware of using a passive radiator is the EP0.

I think some used to (still do?) use a combination. The active being the "main" drivers and the passive for "tuning" if I understood EFalardeau's link correctly. A designer could use either passive drivers or reflex ports for tuning apparently.

Certainly, some do, but Axiom doesn't use passive radiators except in the EP0.

Nut, yes a passive radiator(it isn't really a "driver")is a tuning device for the enclosure which is sometimes used instead of an open port.

Thanks guys, I'm still trying to learn enough to warrant my stay on this fabulous forum

In recent years, the only place I have seen "passive radiators" at use is in some of the "small box" high-powered sub-woofers. Since many of the speakers in these subs can be 10" and smaller, I gather the passive radiators are there to be engaged by the air that is bouncing around in the cabinet along with the "active" speaker(directly connected to the internal amp) just to emphasize additional bass.

More drivers and higher-powered amps in these cubes make them usually significantly more expensive than a regular larger box sub.

My Thiel CS3.6 towers have big passive radiators and my Klipsch LF 10 subwoofer with a pair of passive radiators.

My dog is brown and white and has small floppy ears.

Yes, pmb, and I'm sure it's a very nice dog.

I didn't think it needed to be said that the Thiel towers and Klipsch sub are excellent speakers with their passive radiators and that I know this because I have the chance to listen to them daily. I suppose that with almost 13,000 posts, you are used to giving advice or just commenting on speakers, amps and receivers you have never even heard.

However, bravo on another meaningful post, pmb. Keep up the good work.

The Thiels are some great sounding speakers. I heard a set of towers at a shop up by Chicago. They were some of the best I've heard so far. Quite expensive but very, very nice.

Don't see many on the used market.

Wid, they are wonderful speakers. Really power hungry but really wonderful. htnut, I picked up my minty pair used for about the cost of a pair of M80s. I got really lucky.

As to the Klipsch LF10 subwoofer, I read a review of the M3Tis by Colin Flood in which he reported pairing a pair of M3s with a very expensive Klipsch LF10. He loved the combo. I ended up getting the M3s and the Klipsch sub.

The power of a good review.

Mine too! I wouldn't call his ears small though. I think the brown is classified as "liver" - as he is a GSP.

The speakers that I replaced with my m80's had large passive radiators. Polk Audio RTA 12's. They still sound excellent, especially when you consider they are 30 years old!

I think I almost bought a pair of those used back when I was in college. At $300, they were too rich for my blood, though.

When I decided to upgrade my home theater system the first thing that I did was research speakers and order my Axiom set. Good thing I did that first because the next thing that I did was to replace my Yamaha RXV-1000 with an Integra DTR 9.9. I had not yet received my Axioms but what a difference the new receiver made with the old polks. Had I done that first I would not have ordered the new speakers. The old polks once again sounded awesome. Then the new Axiom set arrived and awesome took another leap up. WOW I am glad of the timing of it all. Dumb luck. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day!