Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater I finally got to demo some M80s (long)

I've been looking forward to a demo of the M80s for a few weeks now and I finally took the drive to a fellow members house for a demo (thanks Ron aka RCVECC). I left right from work and it took me an hour in the rain to get there, but it was well worth the drive. Just for reference the day after I left Ron's house I went and listened to the B&W 703s at a place here in CT. called Audio ETC and the day after that I went and listened to the Paradigm Studio 100 V3 (again). I had already listened to the 100s about two weeks earlier, but since the place isn't to far from work I figured I'd go again while the M80 sound was still in my head (I'm sure the guys at that place are tired of seeing me by now, Ron you know who these guys are).

Listening environments:

Now this was my first time listening to the 703s, but the 100s I've heard a few times now and I've always been impressed with their sound, but the price is now at $2600 for the 100s and $3000 for the 703s and this was my first time listening to the M80s. To be fair the 100s and the 703s were running in different stores and the 100s were powered by some serious mega dollar Meridian gear with $1000 speaker wires and another $1000 in interconnects between the pre-amp, CD player and amp in a dedicated sound room. The 703s were in another store and powered by a Rotel RSP-1098 pre-amp, RMB-1095 amp and a Rotel CD player (not sure about the wires and interconnects) and also in a dedicated sound room. The M80s were powered at Ron's house buy a Sony ES9000 pre-amp, Marantz MM9000 amp and I can't remember the player for the life of me. Now just like me and everyone else here (I assume) the room the M80s were in isn't a specially treated sound room with thousands of dollars spent on sound absorbing materials on the walls, so it was a good place to try them out in an environment that was a real persons room not a mega dollar sound room. Of course this also put them at a disadvantage since the other two were in sound rooms.

Disclaimer:

I'm not a professional reviewer and have never been one. These are my own comments and observations with my ears and my music so YMMV. I don't claim to be any kind of audiophile or golden eared listener( no offense to the golden eared guys). I'm just a guy who loves music, and HT who's looking to buy some new speakers for my dedicated HT room. I found this site from the banner ads on other forums I frequent and was curios about Axioms based on the reviews and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, I could go on forever, but you get the point. These observations are just mine, so don't everyone get all personal on me.

Music:

I used the same music at each demo (with the exception of Velvet Revolver) and I was only interested in how the speakers sounded without subs. Not that subs are bad I just wanted to hear only the speakers, but I do like to use my dual subs to pick up the very bottom end for music in normal listening. My taste in music ranges from everything from R&B to Metallica so finding speakers that will satisfy both these kinds of music is always hard for me, because the R&B I listen to tends to be very well recorded music that works well with forward/detailed sounding speakers that bring the vocals, keyboards and cymbals forward while leaving the rhythm section instruments just a little behind the others.

Now here's my problem. I love forward/detailed (not Klipsch though, too me they're not just forward, they're bright) but lots of heavy metal and rock recordings are IMHO just recorded poorly. Stuff like Guns & Roses, Metallica, Priest, older 80s and 90s stuff and the list goes on and on tend to sound just plain bad on detailed speakers. While I enjoy this kind of music I just wish it were recorded better. Screeching guitars on some recording are just unbearable, so I'm not afraid to use the tone controls when necessary. So unless it's a really bad recording I leave the tone controls flat.

Axiom M80:

I started out at Rons house with the M80s. Ron ran the M80s set to "large" and without any subs on. The first song I tried was an R&B song from BabyFace's MTV unplugged CD (Just so you know what kind of music he performs he writes and produces music for artist like Boys to Men and Tony Braxton). One of the songs is called "Whip Appeal". My first reaction to the M80s was WOW!, Holy Crap Batman! The bass is killer. I really wasn't expecting the M80s to have this much bass. The bass from the M80s was really tight, and deep and not the least bit boomy. I know this song very well and I was just so impressed with the bass. Ron cranked up the M80s to levels that would cause your ears to hurt after extended listening, but those drives never seemed to distort the bass. The highs were crystal clear and the mid range was just right for me. The M80s give a really nice airy feeling to music with highs that are very detailed, but they weren't harsh (unless painfully really loud). Next we put on "My Own Prison" by Creed. This one is also has really good bass and nice highs and the CD is also well recorded, but for a rock CD it has more of the distorted guitar than the screaming guitar except for the solo. The imaging on this song on the M80s was great. There's parts in the song were you can really tell the separation of the instruments. If you close your eyes you can imagine the singer being in the middle, lead guitar on the right and the bass on the left. The drums seem to come from the left and right, with different beats and cymbals in each speaker. The M80s once again brought the vocals forward but since it’s a well-recorded CD the guitar wasn't harsh. Then we put on a CD I know isn't recorded very well (some songs are, but most aren't) , the best of Skid Row an 80s rock band. We played "I Remember You", which is a ballad that starts with acoustic guitar and vocals and then goes into some faster heavy guitar. At normal levels it wasn't that bad even for a bad recording, but at loud levels, man oh man you really need some serious treble control adjustments or your ears will just split. It was harsh and painful. Ron and I both looked at each other and had that ouch look on our faces. I was pretty convinced that the M80s would do great as long as the recording was good. Ron then popped in some Velvet Revolver, but as soon as he skipped through a few tracks I could tell it was a well-recorded CD and was fine on the M80s.

Ron also threw in Finding Nemo and if he didn't tell me the subs were off would have sworn that they were on. Let me tell you the whole room was shaking. Ron's listening area used to be a garage and he’s done an incredible job at converting it in his listening room/area, but you'd never know it was a garage, because it's been done so well it looks like it was build that way with the rest of the house. If I'm not mistaken I don't think he had a sub-floor just some nice wall to wall carpeting over concrete, so the floor shaking the M80s were doing during Nemo was on carpet over concrete not wood (Ron may correct me on this though).

OK so I now had a feel for the M80s. They are definitely a forward/detailed speaker that works great with well-recorded material, but brings out the worst in poor recordings. So as long as I have access to treble controls then I can tame the highs a bit on bad recordings and live happily with the M80s. I should also mention the M80s did put a strain on the Marantz MM9000 amp, because when Ron cranked the volume to really really loud levels the clipping lights would flash. I think the MM9000 is 150x5 wpc into 8 ohms, but I'm not sure of the 4 ohm rating, This may be something to consider if you like it really loud or like to run your speakers full range. I'll be running the M80s with a Rotel RMB-1095 (330 x 5 at 4 ohms) amp so I don't think I'll have a problem, but I’m not sure I would run the M80s as "large" at really loud levels with a receiver (don't everyone with a receiver go crazy now).

I'm not going to boor you guys with a full review of the Paradigm Studio 100s and B&W 703s because I was really looking to see how the M80s compared to them. I will say this though, I used the same music and you have to remember that the 100s were driven with mega dollar Meridian gear while the 703s were driven with almost the same Rotel gear I currently have. The 100s did have more bass than the M80s, but the mid range and highs on the M80s were better than on the 100s. If I was going to buy the 100s and someone let me listen to the M80s and said the prices were the same I'd have a hard time choosing, because to my ears they both sound great. Also the 100s should be easier to drive since they're 8 ohms.

Now the 703s were a little more forward than the M80s and the 100s and the bass wasn't as deep on the 703s as it was on the M80s and 100s. Not to say the 703s had bad bass I just didn't like it as much as the 100s and M80s. To me the 703's bass wasn't as hyper or as deep as the M80 and 100s. As for the midrange and highs they sounded very similar to the M80s. For the kind of music I listen too the 703s might be a little too forward though. Sure they sounded great but after hearing the M80s I just couldn’t hear $3000 worth of sound. Funny how I probably would have been in love with the 703s, but after hearing a very similar sounding speaker for 1/3 the price the 703 suddenly became "$3000?" and the 100s became "$2600?", but of the three speakers the 703 was definitely the best looking. While I'm still a huge fan of the 100s (and I mean huge) I'm don't think they're worth the extra $1500 + tax USD over the M80s. I love those 100s, but not enough to shell out the extra coin. Too me the M80 is a great value and made me realize what you can get without paying $2600+. By the way the 100s and 703 also sounded bad with poorly recorded material.

My reason for wanting to demo the M80s was to see if all the hype was true and I'd have to say “yes” they are really good speakers that sound really good with material that's recorded well, but if it's not recorded well they can sound really bad, which is the curse of a detailed speaker. My other reason for wanting to demo the M80 was to see if they were worth risking the $100 in shipping it would cost me if I didn't like them in my room with my gear. So my next step in a couple of months (nice Christmas present for the HT) will be to order a pair of M80s and see how they sound in my room. If they sound as good as they did at Ron’s then they are keepers other wise hey I'm only out a $100. I guess I should let you guys know what I think once I actually get a pair. For now I can say the M80s are an incredible bargain. I would have never though that I would find a speaker that could compete with the 100s and 703s for a 1/3 the price. I guess I should also mention that the vinyl on the M80s is perfect. I originally thought at this price I’d need a custom finish, but the finish on Ron’s was beautiful (chesseroo you were right).

Ron,
Thank you very much for opening your house to me for a demo. I really appreciate it.

thats all you have to say?????????jk...no problem on the demo.it was a pleasure meeting you .the floor is wood,i couldnt just throw carpeting on the concrete.i wanted the whole room to shake when cranking a good action movie so i built it up and insulated it.....i hope they sound as good in your room as they do in mine....im sure they will.....ron

Great Post Legairre! I'll be ordering soon too so its helpful and great fun hearing about first impressions from virgin ears. It also very interesting that your appraisal of all the speakers relative to one another matched exactly to another posters impressions ( Can't find it now but it was just this week ). I'm sure they'll sound equally excellent in your home. We'll look forward to hearing about your experiences then.

Cheers, Jag

So you're saying you put wood flooring down, then carpeting on top of it?

This I assume is to help with the shaking of the floor...

Thanks

Nice review. Very eclectic music taste, BabyFace to Metallica to Skid Row? Sounds like me...

In reply to:

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Very eclectic music taste

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yes!! and he didnt even tell you about going from indigo girls, to the headhunter tribal chants..

now thats a shift..

bigjohn

misfit,i used conventional framing on the concrete slab and insulated it,and because of the slight pitch in the floor i had to taper each floor joist as i went along,it was a pain but it was worth it

rcvecc, once it started typing I just couldn't stop. I'm sure the M80s will sound great in my room. If your ever up my way feel free to stop by anytime. Your always welcome at my house.

Hey Jag, I'm going to try and see who had the same impressioms of these speakers as I did. I just hope that person doesn't have my strange taste in music.

You guys should see my wife evertime I switch from one song to another, she thinks I'm nuts. Most people have a certain taste in music and stick with it. Me, I'm all over the place.

WOW Indigo Girls huh! Who cares what they sing, I only want to know what they look like?

Hey guys I had a terrible time listening to my speakers after I got home from recvecc house. The M80s are so clear they made my speakers sound like they had a shirt thrown over them. Now I have to wait to get my M80s and the wait is killing me. Maybe I'll ask recvecc if I can stop by again just to enjoy his speakers.

This is too cool........I have posted the same exact impression that I got when I was running around listening to different speakers. When I was reading your review, I was laughing to myself because our impressions were identical. I also auditioned the 703's and 100's in two different stores in their respective sound rooms with high dollar gear (high end Rotel and McIntosh). The 100's do have more low end base, but aren't as detailed as the M80's. The 703's were more in my face than the M80's with less bass. I was beginning to think something is wrong with my ears, because so many folks compare the M80's to the 703's and I didn't think they were all that similar.

I ended up buying an Outlaw sub and am running it via its line level inputs/outputs to augment the low end with my M80's. It's set to the minimum X-over which is just about right for the newer rock recordings that I have. With my older CD's, I turn the X-over up to around 60. With the sub and M80's, I'm still a few hundred less than if I would have bought the 100's, but I have more bass when I want it, and more detail. I think the M80's have a much tighter mid range than both the 703's and 100's. I'm a pretty happy camper with my set up.

Again, agreeing with your review, I would like to tame the treble on some of my CD's. Unfortunately, I don't have that option as I am running this through my H/K's second zone. I can not manipulate the signal. I get straight stereo only. It there any nifty devises out there that will provide that function?? Anyone?

Oh, you should give Dark Side of the Moon a spin when you get the M80's. The new Toys in the Attic and 38 Special CD's are awesome on them too! And Audioslave!! Sounds incredible!

Man this getting scary. Not only did we both have the same opinion of the same three speakers(which is rare), but we both some of the same tunes. I would love to get the 100s and the M80s in my room so I could see if the extra bass the 100s had was from the speakers or the big Meridian gear they were hooked up too. If I remember correctly the dealer said the Meridian pre-amp and amplifier came to a total of something like $10,000 for the two pieces. It would be nice to put the 100 and the M80 in the same room with the same gear. I did talk to the dealer about buying the 100s so I could compare them to some other speakers and if I didn't like them I would return them. He then said that would cost me a 15% restocking fee if I returned them so thee's no way I'll pay close to $400 just to comapre them. Besides my normal dealer is up in MA, and would gladly let me bring the M80s into the store when I get them for a comparison.

Legairre, I'd love to hear about your comparsions once you get the chance, sounds cool. Once I get mine I may also have a chance to do something like this.

Jag