Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Local Dealer's Take on M80's

I went to my local shop today and asked my guy what he thought on the M80's or if he has heard anything. He said they looked good and a friend of his had a pair. Then imedeatily went to the internet and googled reviews. I asked if he was willing to put them up against some paridigms and he said bring em on in. So now I have to get a pair LOL. I was asking how they would go up against a pair of studio 100's and he said that they were a great speaker and it would be tough. He has none in stock and only brings them in special order so it looks like the monitor 11's will be on the block. Just a side note the studio 100's came in at $2656.00 a pair just about double the M80's price, I did not ask a price on the 11's.

He was concerned about them being 4 ohm and throwing the jap AVR's into clipping even if it is ratted at 140W per ch. He suggested a good amp stable at 4 or better yet 2 homs...of course purchased from him LOL. No knocking or negative words at all he said let the speakers do the talking and your ears do the deciding. Now to me that shop has earned my business....well they already have it but if I do need a pre amp I will get it from them.

Any thoughts or takes on this?

Later
Phil

It's an amp you would want not a preamp.

Good to hear he didn't do any trash talking. That happens far to often.

Dr Phil, have you checked the audition thread to see if there is another Axiom ownere in your area willing to invite you over for a listen, and maybe a cold one...

I offered but......

Yeah I have an invitation already but I will not be in that area for a couple of months.

Wid LOL I did put pre amp too many beers I better edit that thanks. I really do knwo the differance.

Phil, it looks like the dealer should study up a bit more about amplifier and preamplifier technology. The possible(although unlikely)problem with the receiver would be shutting down because of overheating. Clipping wouldn't occur unless the designed power limits were greatly exceeded, and impedance wouldn't be a factor in that. Use the receiver for what might be an interesting comparison.

The speakers should be situated identically as nearly as is possible and should be, for example, AP-AP, rather than both inside or outside. Also, the volume level should be as equal as possible, which can be difficult with speakers with varying output at different frequencies.

Phil, that's actually a very good price on the 100's. Also, Paradigm has come out with yet another line to fill the slot between the Monitors and the Studios called the SE(Special Edition). This would be a great comparison if it could be arranged and kudos to the dealer for considering it.

The 4 ohm issue seems to get overblown quite a bit in regards to powering the M80s. If he's got a decent lineup of avr's like Denon, Onkyo, HK, Sherwood ect I don't see a problem. I would say that the Axioms would reach the limit of the amp before the Paradigms, something to keep in mind if you crank it.

I hope you get a chance to compare the two. I've done the comparison but indirectly and with the previous version of the Studio 100. To me, they were a close call.

Man you guys are tough and fast LOL that was my bobo on the PRE amp thing LOL didn't you see my edit and reason being too many beers.

Adrian I thought the price was good too he always makes a point of saying the list price out loud, then grabs his calculator and gives me a price LOL I think I could do a bit better that 2650.00 too. I have purchased a fair amont of car audio...no $$$ amount announced LOL from him. They carry dennon and have a few anthem amps out on display. He named off about 6 amps he had access to with Mcintosh being the last LOL

Later
Phil

If $2650 includes tax then that's a good price IMHO. Looking forward to your comparison.

Smart dealer. Don't insult the customer, tell him he needs something that he can buy from you. That seems rare lately.

Hey I really like giving these guys my $$$ this was the same shop that wanted me to upgrade my sub in my truck and I said ahhhhhh so he gave it to me in the box and said take it and try it for a month or two and then come back........I bought it ...Damn that great customer service.

I think he thinks he can sell me on the 100's

That will be difficult if he doesn't have them available for an audition though...

Agreed. If he wants to sell any, he's got to keep a couple available for people to hear. I can understand not keeping a full line of "Signature" speakers but the Monitor/Studios are Paradigm's bread and butter. From what Phil says, he's a pretty cool dealer though.

I should correct my earlier post, I heard both the Version 4 and the Version 5 of the Studio 100s at two different times...same dealer, got his newest ones in and sold the display models(version 4).

I really like the Studio 100’s. I really like my M80’s. They are similar, but different. Yes, I am bi-polar.

I like the dealer’s attitude. Most won’t even consider looking at their on-line only competition. His comments are mature and professional and he sounds a bit curious as well. Sounds like a man who actually enjoys what he does.

In all fairness to both speakers, and to keep the comparison on somewhat level ground (if it were to happen), you need to get the M80’s in a real wood finish. Having a set of M80’s with vinyl sitting next to a Studio 100 will give you a bias without hearing them. The Studio will win the match before the first punch is thrown. Or even better, do the test blind, then it wouldn’t matter if the M80 was wood or not.

What similarities and differences did you notice? (aesthetics aside)

Imo, the similarities/differences of these two speakers would probably be difficult to distinguish in a blind test.

Well that’s difficult to describe. For one, they were not in the same room being driven by the same electronics. That in itself voids any conclusive comparative analysis. Having said that…….

I prefer a neutral sounding speaker. I do not want my speaker to alter the media in any way whatsoever. If I want the source altered, I want to do that myself with electronics and not be forced to listen to what some engineer thinks I want to listen to. I find Axiom and the Studio line similar in this regards (I did not like the monitor line at all). They are both neutral. Where they differ, is a slightly different mid range (edge to M80 as I felt the mid range is tighter and more defined), slightly different upper end (edge to 100’s as I felt the M80Ti is too forward), very comparable low end. I have not heard V2 M80’s, so I may prefer them over the 100’s as the V2 is supposed to have a smoother upper end.

At any rate, I’d love to hear them both during a blind listening evaluation.

"jap AVR's"? I think he meant "Japanese AVR's".

Phil, here is an old thread that might be of interest to you...

M80, Monitor 11 comparison

Interesting comparison Jay.

Keep in mind a couple of points re your comparison. That would likely be the V4 or V5 Monitor 11 that was used in the comparison vs the newest V6, probably not drastically different but slightly updated or tweaked and it may also be likely that Axiom has done a little tweaking since that audition a couple of years ago.

They were Monitor 11v3's. I have heard the newer versions and without A/Bing, I would say they are similar to the v3s I/we compared.