Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners M80's VS Swan Diva 6.2

OK, thanks, thats what i needed to know...2" VS 2.5 feet is a big difference, and may effect the "soundstage" big time.
2 inches is of course, pretty much..TOO close, but a foot or so should work fine with these speakers. I have never put a speaker 2.5+ feet off the back wall, not for strict 2 channel stereo music. Maybe in HT stuff that works with 5 other speakers.

But for a strait 2 channel stereo system, i don't see it.
My old Polks sit about a foot off the wall and have a huge soundstage. If i plulled them that far off the wall...that would probably go away.

Fred did say from memory but if you draw a line across at ~88db that little peak around 35hz is the +/- 3db point claimed, a spread of 6db, which is how the claims are usually done. Axiom actually claims 34hz +/- 3db for the M80v3.

Anechoic measurements from soundstage are only anechoic to about 100hz due to the length of the wedges used in the chamber. I would love to see a total sound power measurement on the M80's.

OK...this has nothing to due with supposed mesument in a chamber, or anything else. This was a review form a real guy, in his house. In the end he went with the Swan due to the soundstage and possiable better bass.

My point was, he had maybe an under powered amp and the fact the speakers were placed so far off the back wall.

Nobody has seemed to address these issues...don't care what happens in a closed chamber..real life playing of the speakers, in a real house is what it's all about.

No criticism of FredK intended. The way I read that plot, it looks to me that the M80s are about 10db down at 37Hz.

Anechoic doesn't include room gain. A speaker that has a flat graph in the bass measurements in an anechoic chamber will sound bassy and boomy in a real room.

Is that the case for all rooms?

First an unpaid reviewer is not necessarily an unbiased reviewer. People often associate attractive speakers with better sound, AV123 is was a perfect example IMO.

Before deciding to keep them I compared my M80v2s to several brands, including Paradigm, B&W, AV123 and Focal and w/o a doubt the M80s had more midbass punch (the chest thump) than any of them. I later listened to the Swan Diva 6.2 (not a direct comparison) and did not feel they were comparable to the M80s in midbass punch or detailed highs. They did have what I would call a softer more forgiving quality that sounds good to some people especially for acoustical music. OTOH the Divas just did not do loud well. A standard comment I’ve read from owners on various forums.

As for the sound stage the M80s seem to me to be the most finicky speakers I’ve ever listened to when it comes to placement. When Sean brought his speakers over (don’t remember the brand) and we did a direct blind (not double blind) comparison with the M80s on the inside position first they sounded very narrow. When we change their position to the outside the soundstage opened up immensely. One notable thing about the M80s soundstage I’ve noticed is that they project out at you. Where Sean’s speakers created a soundstage that curved back away from us the M80s projected their soundstage out into the room. Similar depth just different directions.

If you’ve narrowed down your search to these two speakers the only way you will know which you like better in your room, with your equipment is to order both compare them yourself and send back the ones you like the least. In these speakers price range return shipping is nothing IMO compared to peace of mind that you made the best choice for you.

I'm getting deja vu.

The funny thing is AV123 was a retailer of Swan Diva back in the day. If the comparison was back when AV123 was a retailer years ago it is not relevant to the current product which has been redesigned within the last year according to their website. I'm not sure if ownership is the same as well. And comparisons of speakers you read such as that one at AVS are purely anecdotal. And to try to comment on someones stories is anecdotal as well so it doesn't really help anyone.

Grunt offers excellent advice.