Re: Upgradeitis
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htnut
Unregistered
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htnut
Unregistered
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Hi all,
I sent Asher a PM asking for the serial numbers of his "ti" M80s but no response so far, so I'm posting here.
With the serial numbers, we can check at the plant to see if his "ti" M80 already has the changed crossover.
Believe me, if you are a critical listener, there IS a difference between the original M80ti and the later version (Summer/Fall 2003); large enough that when we did double-blind listening tests between the old "ti" M80 and the new "ti"--almost everyone at Axiom participated in the tests--the new "ti" crossover won, and it became a much smoother and more linear speaker, especially in the midrange, which I was very critical of when I joined Axiom. So the new crossover was introduced Summer 2003 and along with other mechanical changes, the new M80s were renamed the v2 in 2005.
You can't just judge the sound quality of a speaker on one on-axis anechoic frequency response curve; it's really a matter of looking at the overall family of curves and making a judgment call. Sometimes just 1 dB of difference in the midrange, where our hearing is most sensitive, in the on-axis and off-axis curves, will make a surprisingly large change in the sound of the speaker in the listening tests.
Regards,
Alan Good to know, thanks for the info!
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Re: Upgradeitis
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 6,928
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 6,928 |
I wonder if Axiom would sell the V2 crossover to owners of pre-2003 M80s for owners who might want to change, as an option to selling then buying the latest version(I'm assuming the drivers haven't changed too much, if any...tweeters?).
Half of communication is listening. You can't listen with your mouth.
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Re: Upgradeitis
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,270
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,270 |
Hi Rick,
Yes, I expect so. Short of shipping my Summer 2003 M80s back to Axiom--and I'm tempted to do so-- and doing a round of listening tests, I expect them to be virtually the same.
The thing is, Ian has a habit of slipping in some design change during production and then telling me later on my next visit to the plant for listening tests. I asked him a year or two ago if there had been any upgrades in the M60 and he said, "Oh, yeah, it's entirely different," and laughed uproariously, knowing I'd be annoyed! And I had to admit that after doing a bunch of tests, the M60 v2 sounded a lot better than I'd remembered it.
Regards, Alan
Alan Lofft, Axiom Resident Expert (Retired)
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Re: Upgradeitis
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,877
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,877 |
Alan, do you care to comment on any changes from the v2 m80 sold around late 2007 compared to the one shipping today? I assumed the reason I was asked to send back my speaker for repair when I thought I was having problems a couple of months ago was that the current design sounds a little different and having two slightly different speakers would sound odd?
-David
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Re: Upgradeitis
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,444 Likes: 16
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,444 Likes: 16 |
I wonder if Axiom would sell the V2 crossover to owners of pre-2003 M80s for owners who might want to change, as an option to selling then buying the latest version(I'm assuming the drivers haven't changed too much, if any...tweeters?). I asked Ian that very question as I wanted to do the same thing. It’s a fairly involved upgrade. You have to change the crossover, make some wiring changes and you also have to buy new tweeters. In effect, I’d be money ahead just selling mine and buying new ones. The fact that they did not have wood veneer when I bought mine and now they do is the prevailing reason for me to want to move to the new line. The improved sound is just a bonus to me.
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Re: Upgradeitis
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 6,928
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 6,928 |
Makes sense, thank's for clarifying Michael.
Half of communication is listening. You can't listen with your mouth.
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Re: Upgradeitis
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,270
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,270 |
Hi terzaghi,
It could be, but I don't have access to the records on your speaker or, for that matter, what differences, if any, exist between current M80 production and models from 2007.
We do keep current reference models of each speaker in the listening room, against which random production samples are compared periodically, but I suspect the answer to your question likely resides in the curves and measurements stored in the anechoic chamber computers. Apart from the change and improvement in midrange sound quality in 2003 that I described in my earlier post, there have not been significant audible upgrades in the M80 v2 that I'm aware of.
Regards, Alan
Alan Lofft, Axiom Resident Expert (Retired)
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Re: Upgradeitis
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,877
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Apr 2007
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-David
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Re: Upgradeitis
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 54
buff
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OP
buff
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 54 |
Sorry Alan.I didn't get your PM.The serial #'s are 4020004 and 4040001.Where do I stand?
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Re: Upgradeitis
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,270
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 3,270 |
Thanks, Asher. I'll send them to the plant and post here when I have the answer.
Alan
Alan Lofft, Axiom Resident Expert (Retired)
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