Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners What can you tell me about Factory Outlet speakers

Technically no difference, same guarantee, same warranty.

I have the M60's VP150 EP350 and 4-Qs8's from the factory outlet in Mansfield Beech, and have yet been able to find even one blemish, they are perfect.

bigJ,
The fish is indeed a burbot, aka ling cod aka Lota lota.
A voracious piscivore typically inhabiting northern waters. It is an ugly, ancient looking fish that the local bands hunt for its fatty liver.
We catch them with long lines through the ice in early spring.

Mine were all flawless - still haven't discovered the imperfections 6 months later (I also stopped looking, though)

Cormit,
I'll chime in on "No Worries" on the FO stuff. My M2i's, 150 & EP 350 all came from the outlet, and I was only able to find one tiny scratch on the bottom of one of the M2's.
As to;
"Yes, I was planning to use the Yamaha presence feature. JT suggested that might be an option. Do you think it is a waste with the m80's up front? I'm pretty much an amatuer at this, so maybe I wouldn't even notice the difference"

I just bought one of the new Yamaha 2500's and be aware that you have to choose between the front presence and rear surrounds. You CAN have both hooked up at the same time, but you CANNOT run both at the same time. The different channels use the same amp. I choose to use the front presence, as
A; I have nowhere to hang rear surrounds, and
B; I love the front presence effects on CERTAIN kinds of music. (Only about 10-15 % of my listening, but after weeks of weighing the differences between the Yam and the Denon I decided that I did not want to give up even that 10-15%)
As to the smearing of the soundstage, and screwing with the imaging issue that many are concerned with when using the front effects speakers, I have found that it is easily controlled by several things.
1; I keep the levels on the effects speakers a bit lower than the mains.
2; I keep the delay on the effects set to the lowest setting possible.
3; I have decided that, despite what Yamaha tells you in their set up tips for the speakers, that placing the front effect speakers INSIDE (and above obviously) the front Mains does quite a bit to keep the imaging and spatial characteristics of the mains as they should be. The outside edges of my Front effects M2I's are lined up even with the inside edges of my M60's, and are mounted on stands on top of my shelf system, with the bottoms of the M2i's about 3 feet from the top of the M60's. Both are toed in at the same angle (very slight) and both are the same distance from the back wall. After years of experimenting with the placement of the front effects speakers in various rooms, I have found this to be the most pleasing, and most natural, by far.
All that said, I still only use them for certain kinds of music; Jazz recorded live in a small room, All of the Buena Vista Social Club stuff that all sounds like it was recorded in the same small, boxy studio, where you can really get a sense of the room acoustics where the recordings were originally made, and some other live recordings made in a Hall type setting. I virtually never engage the Yamaha DSP's when listening to studio recordings.
So, if you do not listen to that sort of stuff, you may find that you do not need/like the front effects for music.
But, I also find that I quite like the fronts for expanding the depth and size of the (apparent) soundstage/room when watching movies. Then again, I have never been in a space where I could take advantage of the Rear Surrounds in a 7.1 system, and that might make even more of a difference. I cannot say from personal experience. I would love to hear from someone on these pages who has been able to do both, and see what they have to say.
Of course, one of my justifications/rationalizations for buying the M2i's for the front effects was that I would have them in hand for when I am able to mount rear surrounds for 7.1.
So, as with all of the wonderful opinions that are offered on these pages, YMMV!
But, in my opinion, you have a no lose situation if you have the room to mount them for 7.1 rear surrounds, and room in your budget. Try them up front, try them out back. See which works better for you. At the very least, if you find you do not need either, you can send them back, or you have a fantastic set of spare speakers for another room!
Win, Win all around!