Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Last days of my trial.. but would..???

I got a set of M80 speakers and I really do like them. They sound incredible.

The room that they ultimately would be houses in is not yet finished and won't be for about another 7-8 months.

Part of me however wonders, as the plan was to get a set of speakers and that is it. Done as there is no plans to replace or change anything sort of break repair. I wanted a room setup that I can go into and listen to music and watch movies and simply just be happy.

Now I am pondering, as there was a thread in the HT section where an owner in asia was left unhappy about the sound of his M80 I believe and traded up to the VFR1100. They are quite a bit more money, but when I was looking at speakers I was around that level of cost as I was considering the Paradigm Studio 100 speakers.

The gist of the upgrade by iloveturbo was that his M80 didn't feel full enough on tracks. Well, I do have quite a bit of music and some of it does feel lacking in the dynamic, but other recordings are full and perfect. I don't know if that is due to the recording, the room treatment (as I am trying out the M80 in an untreated/un decorated room that has furniture just hap hazzardly put in it). I am sure that the VFR speakers will sound amazing. The price difference will pretty much kill off the chances of getting a Sub like the EP500 for me.

As I am getting down to the wire on testing and the 30 day return policy, do I pull the plug and return the M80 and move to the VFR1100? (it's about $90 for fedex to ship them back)

The rest of the speaker setup is the V180 center and the QS8 surrounds. Would you upgrade the M80 for a VFR1100 or get a EP500 sub?

Do what you think will make you happy that you can afford. The LFRs are a lot more yes, but you have to factor in the HP woofers and additional one for the extra low end extension with the bigger enclosure, additional drivers and tweeters in the back for the omnidirectional effect, and of course the DSP that makes it all work. Also keep in mind you'll have to have a separate amp powering four channels for the LFRs if you don't already. More and more people seem to be getting these and it will be very interesting to see more feedback on them, especially given their price. If they're close to as good as some are saying, it sounds like you can easily get audio nirvana with them set up properly.

Hi Matt,

Glad to hear that you like your M80's! I myself started with those though I now also have a set of the LFR1100.

I think I remember some of your other postings but please refresh my memory. Do you have the M80HP or regular? Based on them being new within the last month, is it correct that they are the v4 rather than v3?

Finally, do you mainly want to listen to stereo music, movies with surround sound, or both?

I can tell you that for music I don't really miss having a sub. My LFR's are amazing on their own! However with bad recordings there's only so much that they can do and in fact they probably make the deficiencies in bad recordings even more obvious. So anything that already sounds bad on your M80's is probably still going to sound bad on LFR's.

From a price perspective, based on current Axiom list prices, the difference in price between a stock finish on M80's and the equivalent LFR1100's is about the price of an EP800 subwoofer. Then again the LFR's will require two additional channels of amplification. Can your current system provide them?

If so, I personally would not hesitate to get the LFR's instead of the subwoofer. In fact, I did that already! To me, the main speakers are much more important than a sub, especially for music. Also, a sub can more easily be added later.

In case you want to think about it some more, the Axiom Upgrade Program can be used to trade in your M80's for LFR's later. I'd guess that you won't get a full credit for your M80's though.

If listening to my new LFR's would help in your decision, please feel free to PM me and we can set something up sometime.

Good luck in your decision!

Mike

I picked up the regular M80.v4 speakers. I do have (well sort of) separates, in I have a 5 channel Anthem MVA5 and a Pioneer receiver that has my pre-outs. So, I can easily run the LFR through 4 of the 5 channels on the amp, and the VP180 through the last.

I am building this system as I have a real love of music. I seriously enjoy sitting and listening to music. I did for a while get into movies, and still do enjoy to watch them, but the main thrust was to listen to music.

I do have an older Mirage PS8 sub (from 2002) and an Energy sub that came with the Take5 speakers that my wife refuses to have in the upstairs as it doesn't fit the decore. It might eventually get re-installed and hid under a table.

So I do have one sub but I never really found it sounded all that good. Rather boombastic and muddly. That was in my last house that acoustically wasn't the best and had zero treatment plus I had no knowledge on how to make it better back then.

The room I am making now is in an unfinished basement and is being purpose built. It is around 12'x14.5'x8' and is being sound isolated from the rest of the house to the most part.

I have said in other posts, that I have some music that sounds fantastic with the M80s, such as my Holly Cole collection. Some of my classical sounds wonderful. others sound lacking.

I had a friend over and we listened to Jeff Beck - Flash, and it did sound like it was missing some extra bass, so I turned off the pure direct and added some extra bass and it compensated somewhat. But compared to the richness of sound with Holly Cole, you couldn't wave a stick at it.

I have been listening to quite a bit of my Pink Floyd and it sounds great. I purchased a dual CD of Fun Boy Three, and it sounds good. Not fantastic, but good. My Sisters of Mercy seems to lack punch, but it enough high energy in the music that it compensates.

I understand that a bad recording will always sound bad and have given into I will mostly listen to what sounds good. With over 7500+ songs to choose from (Yes I am a bit of a collector)I am sure that I can find something I like for the mood I am in.

I posted several weeks back when I first got the M80s, the WOW I never knew my music could sound so good. I'd be through the roof if I can get that feeling amplified with going to the LFR1100. I can imagine that Pink Floyd darkside of the moon would blow my mind with a surounding sound stage. it feels like those speakers were made for it. I really like the grand piano, bass, and articulate voice music. I like the big feeling and compared to the Energy C3, the M80 gave me that more I was looking for, but if that can be delivered even bigger then I am very curious.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I would not be disappointed, but want to hear what other 'real' people, rather than a paid reviewer has to say.

Unless you have endless disposable income, you gotta draw a line somewhere....

The question is always to find that point of diminishing return where the value of what you are gaining is not worth the cost that you are paying. And for everyone that point is different.

I had a pair of $700 Energy C3 speakers. I would say without any hesitation that the $2000 pair of M80 speakers gave so much value in sound that the cost is easy to justify. I can't and won't expect the same leap forward in going from the M80 to LFR1100 as I did going from the C3, but is the move forward a subtle improvement that if you blink or your head is turned in the wrong direction, you'd miss it.. or is it an enjoyable improvement that you'd say to yourself, 'yes, those speakers do make me feel happy and I am glad I bought them'.

Personally, I think I would go with the M100's. The LFR's are an entirely different animal, and the M100's are an expanded version of the M80's.

In what way are the LFR's so much of a different animal, or more to point, are they so much different that you would not get the same enjoyment if you compared them to the M80HP or M100??

Are they going to expose far more of my music for the limitations of how they were recorded?

i haven't heard the LFRs, but i would say the difference between the M80 and the LFR is similar to monophonic sound vs stereo.
"different kind of animal".

The LFRs do have more bass than the M80s. Also the soundstage is amazing but difficult to describe. For stereo music you simply need to hear it!

I think you've already discovered that both the recording and the room are awfully important, too.

You should do what makes you happy.

I would like to echo what tom says , the room is so very important and honestly a bad recording is a bod recording. These speakers truly are revealing, for good or bad. I remember when Bose came out with the 901's , they were great speakers and much more enveloping than regular speakers. The LFR's should give you everything your looking for and more. But don't forget that a good speaker in a bad room is not going to sound good. You have a tough decision since your room in not ready yet . I try myself to spend as much as I possibly can so I don't have buyers remorse , with that said, if you can afford the lfr's then you should problable get them.

Richard

Agree completely with this point. If you can afford the LFR's then go for it. Nothing worse than getting something you marginally care about just to spend the next few years thinking, "These are ok, but if i had only spent $xxx more I could of had XXX instead that are so much better."

I'm doing that now, but for a different reason. (WAF issues) I love my M22's, but still find myself wondering how much better everything would sound if I just could of talked the wife into allowing some towers and got the M80's instead.

Get what you really want so you don't sit around second guessing your decision instead of enjoying your music.

Well, it was a bit of a hit to the pocketbook, but I am custom making a sound room, so why stop with great speakers when you can have exceptional for just that little bit more.

So, the LFR1100 v4 Warm Cherrywood that was once for sale in the b-stock section is now going to be headed my way.

I guess it is now up to me to make sure that the room is properly built to take full advantage of the sound capability that these speakers can produce.

It's one of those leap of faith purchases where I know that the M80 were wonderful, so lets hope that the LFR1100 is the same and more so.

By different animal, I meant that they are not just front radiating, but speakers on the back that contributes to ambiance, or whatever you want to call it. Nothing that you probably already didn't know.

I just thought if you liked the M80, you'll probably like the M100 better without all the additional cost of the LFR's. But, if you're satisfied with the M80's, then there's little reason to upgrade.

I'm doing that now, but for a different reason. (WAF issues) I love my M22's, but still find myself wondering how much better everything would sound if I just could of talked the wife into allowing some towers and got the M80's instead.

I started out my Axiom journey with M2's and a pair of 8" Yamaha subs. The M80 bug bit and I could not hold back. I found that though the M80's sound good on their own the step up was not as huge as I expected. I don't play too loud anymore so the advantage of the larger M80 is kinda lost. If you have good subs you really aren't missing anything by not having the M80's and you have the joy of knowing your wife is happy about at least one thing .

stroud:

If you use a decent sub or preferably two with your M22s like I do, IMO they will provide every bit as good a performance as towers unless the room is so large as to require higher powered gear all around. No need to think that they are inadequate in any way - I'm thrilled with mine.

Buyer's remorse and/or upgraditis are terrible afflictions. I recently upgraded from QS4V3s to QS8V4s just because I could. Besides, I got a great deal on the 'Trade Up Program'. Although I'm really happy to have the highest end model, I don't really hear any difference between the 4s & the 8s in the real world - both are ' similarly good'...

TAM

Don't want to hijack his thread, but thanks for the comments TAM and Socketman. It's good to hear the M22's sound just as good as long as paired with decent subs.


Matt,
I'm sure you'll be happy with your choice.

Based on the listing on the site, those are a great deal! In fact if I hadn't just upgraded my LFR's I'd probably have snagged them myself! Enjoy!

Mike, every time I see this thread name, I think it's the title of a new book by OJ Simpson.

Bob, you made me loose some of my beer that I was drinking when I fell over laughing at your comment.

Tom....AKA "Beer Cop".... will be along shortly to chastise you.

Congrats Matt! I guess you jumped the boat too. Great price btw! I am going to play around with the finishing when my speakers get here. Dunno if this will work but I love modifying/break things lol.

I look forward to hear from your feedback on LFR.

Cheers

-Howard

Right now the wife doens't know that the M80 speakers that I just bought are getting sent back and traded for even bigger ones. She just about flipped when she saw the first batch.

I am putting them all into my basement sound room to be built. i have made the bathroom so the sound room should be done in a few months.. or say 4.

So, do i just keep them in the box and move them to the side, so she can simply forget what size the M80 were and when the new LFR's come out then 'no honney, that's what I had all along'

My motto "If You Can’t Convince her, Confuse her"

-Howard

Its always better to ask forgiveness than permission .