Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Out with the old and in with the new

I think distortion could very well be the culprit. I didn't enjoy my Onkyos near reference levels, but after getting separate amps, everything sounds clean, not harsh, as hard as I want to push it. I'm still paranoid about hearing loss, so I don't go crazy, but I feel like I'm getting the full theater experience. Honestly, it sounds better than any theater around here for my money.

So...what about those M5s, Charles?

I haven't tried them as my mains yet, or a single one as a center, so I can't give a true appraisal yet. They seemed more than adequate as side surrounds when I finished my rewatch of The Wire, however. I finally cracked open my Blu-ray box set, and besides looking really good, the audio was fun, too. Plenty of surround information coming through in city scenes, really felt like you were in the hustle and bustle.

I had to help a friend move today, and tomorrow I have to celebrate two other friends' birthdays, but I'm going to try to make time to try them as mains at least for a little while.

I've started my site acceptance test of all my v4 gear. I've got M80s, M5HPs, M3s and Totem Dreamcatchers, QS10HPs and QS8s all set up. I've got the ADA-1000-3, the Onk, a Yammie and a Pioneer dual mono block amp to power the gear.

The biggest surprise thus far has been the M3v4. As you all know, I heard the M3Ti a decade ago and hated it. But the M3v4...wow! Absolutely no problem getting loud in my 4,200 ft^3 space and the soundstage, imaging and clarity is simply outstanding! I've held the Dreamcatchers in high regard but the M3s are on an entirely different level in so many ways. Wow!

Having said that, it doesn't take a golden ear to hear how much more refined the mids are with the M5HP. Flight of the cosmic hippo sounds more cosmic through the M5 but not by much.

It's also easy to hear how much louder the M80v2 is but with more smearing. Anyway, I've only just started.

Awesome! So you're liking the M5HP's over the M80s? Tried the ADA-1000 yet?

I haven't touched the ADA yet.

The M5HPs are definitely more refined than the M80v2. I need to understand if the M80v2 are giving me something that is missing in the M5HP. If so, maybe I need to look at the M80v4 and M100. But I'm definitely not there yet. So far the M5HP is so good I wonder why anyone would need anything more.

I had a fem friend over whom I blind-folded (as I do with fem friends). She's seen and heard my M80s and Dreamcatchers before but had no idea I had all the speakers ready for comparison. After about a half hour of me switching cables and her listening, it was very obvious the Dreamcatchers were the worst of the bunch. She had a tough time between the M80v2, the M5HP and the M3v4. I put on Buble and she came to some rapid conclusions. The M80v2 and M3v4 were virtually indistinguishable. The M5HP had the best over-all balance, and soundstage (depth, width, height). She said she could easily pick out the images. I then took the blind-fold off and had her listen to the speakers without knowing which ones she had commented on when blind. She easily discarded the Dreamcatchers. She had a tough time picking a winner between the M80v2 and the M3 and found the M5HP to be the most optimum. At this time, she knew what speaker she was listening to.

All of this was done at very sane listening levels of a watt average. She's now actively thinking of buying M3s and was looking at all the finishing options. I found all of this interesting to say the least.

BTW, the backs of the M5HPs are 4 feet away from the front wall, they're 9 feet apart and 6 feet away from the side walls. I'm sitting 11 feet away on the diagonal and they are naked and pointing straight ahead.

I should mention all listening is done with the EP800 on.

Nice. Good to hear the M5HPs are working out.

I was also very impressed with M3v4s (to the point of being surprised, even though I have liked M3s for maybe 15 years) but agree the balance is even better with M5HP's.

One of my man-buds was over yesterday and while he didn't want to be blind-folded, he did agree to close his eyes. After running him through the same routine, he preferred the M5s, then the M3v4, then the M80v2 and finally the Dreamcatchers. His comments were similar to my fem-friend's. He was also quite shocked with the performance of the M3s given their size and the significant difference in presentation of the M5 and M3 compared to the others.

Pretty crazy that everyone prefers the M3s to the M80s. Have you tried the ADA1000 yet?