Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Thoughts on a trade up? (Trade in not working on w

Hello,

I have the itch for some upgrades. And also have some general questions

I bought M80 v3's (custom - with die cast baskets and dual inputs) and a VP-160 v3 (also with die cast baskets) in 2013.

In 2017, i bought the QS10HP's for rears.

I drive them all with a Rotel RMB-1095 (200 watts per channel, all 5 channels driven @ 8ohm)

I have the itch to try something new perhaps. I follow a lot of various forums and home theater channels ln youtube, for many years now.

After much research, believe it or not, the klipsch RF7 iii is really catching my attention. Not version 1 or 2. They made considerable changes to the horn and apparently it is smooth as silk. You'd be hard pressed to find anything but glowing reviews for these speakers from all the notable review sources.

That being said....selling my m80's and "upgrading" to those is quitw an additional cost. They are 5500-6000 cad. And speakers are soooo subjective so who really knows how much of an upgrade it is. But i wish i was made of money and could try. I like that its much bigger...heavier and has 10" woofers. I also like its design premises.

Im looking for something "more" than the m80 that can justify a reasonable cost. Higher SPL levels while remaining clean and in control. More heavy end (regardless of subwoofer integration).

Now with that said...i have to consider upgrading to the m100.

(Note to axiom....your trade up section of the website will not work and just goes dead when i try to input my serial numbers. Please help. Ive tried multiple browsers too)

So because the trade in portion of site won't take my serial number...i just put i don't have one. It's not taking into account the custom options of my speaker....so it says i can get $920 for the pair.

As for m100's...

There was once upon a time i could have gotten them for 2800 cad but i missed the boat on that one

They are now 4000 cad. B stock is 2800. But with my trade in....i can potentially get a pair of new m100s for 2700.

What's the point of trading in if i can get b stock for same price or better? I'm better off selling privately and buying b stock


This is likely the cheapest upgrade option tho.

How much of a difference would it be? Anyone with direct experience between the m100 and m80....and better yet...anyone with direct experience between the RF7 iii and m100?

I can't find any info on my rotel regarding power if i use that beast for only 2 channels. Did they design it so every channel has seperate amplifiers...in which case...would using 4 total inputs on rotel on dual inputs of m100, give it more available power? Every power amp ive seen usually gives more power when running less channels but i can't find any info at all on this model regarding that. If it does...i wouldn't consider "buy-wiring" potential m100's

There is limited professional reviews on m100s (ive read all the ones that do exist).

Nevermind...i just read i can't trade up on B-stock

That's really disappointing. I can understand refurbs....but be stock? They are new product with 5 year warranty.

That changes a lot and my considerations for m100 change considerably

Tried to open a support ticket to give proper serial numbers and request a quote for m100s and it errored and said:

"Something went wrong with reCAPTCHA. Please contact store owner"


I give up

try calling an see what they say ...

As an aside...

Ive absolutely loved my m80s these past 8 years. Used daily and still going strong

Which is why i'm strongly considering the m100 still.

Klipsch RF 7 iii are 6000 cad for a pair

A pair of b stock m100s after discounts could be as low as 2700 cad.

After factoring in the sale of my m80s for 900-1200....those klipsch are now 4800-5000 and the m100s are 1500-1700.

Id bet my money they are very comparable in performance

Seems a no brainer to go with m100s if thats the case

Have Dirac in your setup yet? Keep your speakers. Start there.

No not yet.

And no. Upgrades are happening regardless.

Accounting for cost...i can't justify jumping to my other choices.

The m100 im sure will please. Especially with v4 updates. Im most interested in the new tweeter

It's easy to get sold on something based on hype. It's hard to pull the trigger when you can't hear them in person.

We bought our Tannoy D700s many years ago. I was looking for certain characteristics at the time including a large for big rooms, no subwoofer required, relatively efficient, good speaker design (has the angled cabinet shape employed by Axiom and others) among many other things. Tannoy had such a historical name and i was doing a lot of reading on sound 'types' at the time (the British sound, Canadian sound, etc.). Long story short, we bought those speakers after hearing some other Tannoy speakers (Saturns and one of their Royal lineup but i don't recall which, maybe a Kensington?). If anything, check around the local hifi shops and see if anyone carries the higher end Klipsch products. It is worth trying to hear even a cousin to the speaker than buying something blind for $5k. Unless of course you are happy to work within the used markets buying and selling and in such case, you can try out all sorts of stuff, though typically at a lost cost over time.

If you want more bass, you need more drivers, larger tower, or bigger drivers. The M100 does add that over the M80.
If you are jazzed on trying a different tweeter, there are other options out there as well like the Monitor Audio Platinum series. I've always found the MA to be more bassy than Axiom but with a real life like midrange (airy is a word people use). This is an example of an original Platinum PL300 (they are onto version Platinum II now).
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649477737-monitor-audio-platinum-pl300-speakers-used/
You can find the PL300 used for around 7k but the PL200 should sell for a bit less used. The PL200 have smaller bass drivers while the PL300 is the slightly larger version (chose which you prefer for your room and preference).

On a side note, in an A/B comparison of our Tannoy Definition which uses a dual-concentric driver setup (horn-like) vs. Axiom M60, the Tannoy actually sounded more laid back. I had always found the Axiom to be a bit bright. This was a commonly reported character in their early versions of the lineup (and no it wasn't because it had a hard steel tweeter).

Do those Tannoys render holographic images and do they acoustically disappear?

Your SC-57 does not support current audio codecs or room calibration. Its your $, but I promise you starting there with a modern unit with Dirac will likely end your quest for upgrades (if you are upgrading for Sound, anyway.)

If you are just bored and wanting a change then the Cerwins would be the first to go. Again, based on sound quality strategy.