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

I'll pass on the "vs" part for lack of reliable info. On the anechoic measurements, as has been mentioned here several times, the size of the wedges in most chambers doesn't allow for reliable results under about 90Hz and deep bass extension can't be determined from this.

Room gain(only one of several room effects)can exist to some extent in all rooms, but the smaller the room and the more tightly it's enclosed the stronger the effect and the higher the frequency at which it begins. The "room" that's best for this bass gain is the inside of a car

I suppose that I should add in response to Bob that except for multiple output channels, of course, HT amplifiers aren't in any significant way "geared for surround sound" and have to meet the same quality standards.

Also, there's nothing "supposed" about the power rating. If it didn't in fact measure to that standard it'd be in violation of the FTC amplifier power regulations.

Amp power is a non issue. In an average room, at a distance of 10', to get to 85 db, you will need somewhere in the range of 4 watts. 85 db is louder than most people listen. Note that this takes into account room gain.

If you want another 12 to 15 db of headroom you are up in the range of 30w. Note that would give you peaks in the range of 100db. Push the average listening level up to 90db (hearing damage territory) and you are up to about 90w.

Back to the short answer. Power is not an issue.

Well, unless you are out on a dock in Muskoka and you wanna hear the music from the other side of the lake

Thank you Grunt, that was the answer i was looking for. Placement of the M80's has alot to do with the soundstage. Which is fine. I was never sold on the Swans, in fact the reviewer even noted that they can not reproduce the treble like the M80's. Doing LOUD well, is a must in my case. I had a feeling the Swans were going to be lacking in that department.

It's very hard to find a speaker to compare the M80's with in this price range, the Swan stuff was as close as i could get.
The M80's would be replacing my old set of 1986 Polk SDA1C's, which i can no longer get fixed. The Polks do produce a large soundstage, which i hope the M80's can match.

I have no fear about the M80's being able to match or exceed the Polks volume levels, the Swans i was not so sure about.

Bob, the general consesus with the M80s has been that they are a little finicky with placement. Having done the listening with Dean and hearing the difference in sound, I completely understand now. Dean and I heard the same and were quite surprised by the dramatic difference in the soundstage with a slight movement in set up.

It may take a little bit of work to get them situated properly, but once you do they will perform like champs. And, as for loud, the M80s will ROCK. They are absolutely clean at loud levels.

Thank you St_PatGuy.

I had a feeling these speakers were more prone to placement issues. Not a problem for me, and i'm sure i can get them set properly within a few hours of listening. I did not understand the one reviewers placement of these speakers at all. But even with the bad placement, he still had to admit the treble responce was much better on the M80, then the Swan.

Some speakers the placement is easy, some you have to play with, not a big deal. To be honest, i'm not sure alot of people understand that.

Placement and room interaction may be two of the more important factors in getting the best sound out of a pair of speakers.

Sadly, I think many overlook the importance of the listening space.

I am looking at these speakers to only reproduce music at it's best. A strait 2 channel stereo system. I have no interset in HT junk. Most people now adays seem to be into the HT thing, buy speakers, because they look good and the wife likes them, then place them where they think looks good, in there HT setup.

I have a 50 inch plasma..i don't need some bomb blast to blow my ears out. TV is TV...I don't need a 2k system to watch Starwars.

I want Bach to sound like Bach, and AC/DC to sound like them off a live cd. Thats all i care about.

Pity.

I think your comment on HT is a bit simplistic.
You want a good pair of speakers to reproduce the music that you like to its best, some people don't give a crap and will buy a Sony stereo system at Bestbuy for $200 and find it amazing.
Some people will buy a HTIB and be happy with it, some people want their HT to reproduce the movie soundtrack as close as possible to what the sound engineer intended, the same as for music.
I, for one, really enjoy watching a movie and hearing all the background sound of a city or a forest filling up the room and making me feel there, the same as I enjoy my whole room shaking if I am watching an earthquake. All of this, along with music fidelity, is for me the joy of having a HT.
Even if your interest is only in music, you shouldn't underestimate what a processing like DLPII can do with a good set of speakers. You're talking about wanting AC/DC to sound like them off a live CD; pair your M80s with QS8s, put on their Blu Ray or use DLPII on your CD and it won't sound like a live CD, it will sound like you are there, live, and part of the crowd.

OK my statement about HT may have been a little rash. I'm sure a great HT set up is wonderfull. But not what i need or what i'm looking for. I only need a 2 channel set up, to play CD's or Vinyl, to give me the best real life sound i can get for the bucks.

OK sorry but i don't care about the room shaking for the earthquake, But the cannons on the 1812 i do, I want to hear the stings, on certain passages. I'm only interseted in music reproduction..at it's best. I'm hopeing the M80's will deliver that.