Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Please Help Me Decide

Hello,
I was trying to get a home theater/music system in my living room. After hearing a few HTIB's I quickly gave the idea up and convinced my wife (ok begged) to allow floor standers/large bookshelfs on stands.

The room size is 14x22, opens to the kitchen area to one side, open to the front of the house (passage,dining and upstairs area) on the other and is 2 stories high.

I have heard PSB T65,T55,B25 Triangle comete es and the B&W 602s3. I liked the PSB's the most but there was someting missing. The towers could not keep up with the music (or so I felt). The book shelfs did not have bass.

I am thinking about the M60ti's to begin with for music. then I will expand to a 5.1 system with the S4/8's and VP100/150's later.

Do axiom owners here think that the M60ti's would be better than the PSB T55/65's?

What would be a good reveiver to drive these? I am planning on spending around $1100 for the front mains and $ 600 to $800 on the reveiver. Later on around end of the year I will add the sorrounds,sub and center.

Any comments/suggestions are welcome.

APD.

Go listen to the B&W 703 towers. If you like that sound, you'll like the M60ti's.

As far as what to drive them with...HK and Denon are the most popular receivers around here. Though Onkyo and Pioneer Elite have some fans as well.

if you wana save some money, you could get the M60's factory outlets. plus, that is a VERY big budget for a receiver. there is no question that you can find plenty of receivers in that price range, but you might not need them. do some research on the internet, and you will be able to find some GREAT quality receivers with PLENTY of power, for around $500. no reason to spend $800 if you dont need to, right?

i think the M60's will be just right in a room that size. get you an Onkyo, H/K, or Denon receiver, and you will be sailing!!

bigjohn

Hey there Apd, welcome to the Axiom family, hopefully

I'm not familiar with PSB's, but I can tell you that the M60's are fabulous speakers. I demoed B&W 703's, NHT, Paradigm, and Klipsch. I ended up with the M60's and I am a happy camper. I also second purchasing from the Factory Outlet from Axiom, and also see if you can audition Axioms in your area, check out the Audition thread in the Q&A forum.

randy


M60's VP150 EP350 4-Qs8's
Denon 2805
Sanyo Z2 projector
Toshiba DVD
Samsung HD Receiver

Yamahas also were popular around here for awhile.

true, but i have seen very few yamaha receivers in the $500 range. but then again, i havenmt been looking very hard either.

but, yes.. they are perfectly fine receivers... so i have been told!

bigjohn

Quick replies. Thanks. All of the replies were by addicts, guess thats why you got the titles. I am glad you are willing to help me out.

I had a big budget for receivers because other speakers I looked at needed the big power. But If I can save some $$ here , I can get the center or the sub.

I will go and listen to the B&W 700's today.

Where is the factory outlet of Axiom's? Online?

Addict actually means that we are completely unable to stop posting and opening our big mouths. Which is a pretty good indication we like to pretend we know what we're talking about!

It could also mean that you guys actually care.

I am in Houston TX and will try to if some axiom owner would kindly indulge me for 30 minutes.

I imagine you'll be able to find someone in Texas... I'm pretty sure there's some people around there.

Back on the receiver front, I've been pretty happy with my refurb H/K 525. At the time, the new one cost somewhere between $800-1000, and the refurb (with 2 year warranty) cost around $500-600. Great deal.

there are several of us in texas, but i dont know about houston..?

i think biggsly might be from down there, but i aint sure. most of the axiom owners are in the dallas/ft worth area. and then ya got me out in the middle of nowhere!!

honestly, i stay as far away from houston as i possibly can. we refer to it as "the armpit of texas" around here.

and, back on subject.. axioms are extremely efficient speakers.. so, you dont have to go with a big powerful receiver, unless you just want to.. i think a receiver with 75-100 wpc, will push the M60's just fine.

bigjohn

Since no omne answered this, here is the outlet. Can't write more, eye Dr. dilated my pupils!

so i guess your picture really is representative!

Mark - how can you tell your pupils are dilated??

Just went through this. See post.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=HT&Number=88787&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=

I am pleased with service , product AND sound.

I also bought a Denon 3805 at Ubid (authorized reseller).
Refurbished and great price, great product. A lot of 2805's have been listed for the price you want to spend.

I listened to PSB Image 2Bs before getting my first set of Axioms... I believe the 2B was replaced by the 25 but not sure. Compared to the Axioms (M2 or M3) I felt that the PSB had better bass and could play a bit louder but was definitely not as "clear and crisp" in the midrange. Vocals, acoustic guitar, even the harmonics on electric bass seemed to be more accurate on the Axioims.

I did not get to compare them side by side so treat this as "low quality information"

>http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=HT&Number=88787&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=


Link police

Link Feds...

I just went through this. See post.

Yep, your link is nicer than my link.

Sorry, I screwed up that link. In a rush before going out to dinner with friends.

I went and listned to the B&W 703's yesterday. WoW. Do they sound good. I would be very happy if the M60ti's are anywhere close to those. Also the B&W's are absolutely beautiful. My wife wanted me to buy them right there even without listning to them untill she found out the 3K + cost that is. They are very good looking though, just wanted to hug them (or is it just me).

In reply to:

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just wanted to hug them

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naw, i can understand that

the M60's will be extremely similar type sound as the 703's. and for a few $100 more, you can get them in any one of a dozen custom finishes, of which i am sure one will make you and your wife very happy. plus, you will still come in very much under the cost of the 703's.

bigjohn

"I went and listned to the B&W 703's yesterday. WoW. Do they sound good. I would be very happy if the M60ti's are anywhere close to those. "

The day I listened to the 703's was the day I thought I had to wait years to upgrade my speakers, because there was no way I could afford them, and did not want to settle for anything less.
Then I discovered the M60's while poking around online, and all of the comparisons everyone was making between the two.
Fast forward to today, and I could not be happier with my 60's. They are everything that you liked about the 703's albeit with a different look. I came to realize that I do not go for the robot eye thing, and much prefer the shape of the Axioms. The finish on the 703's was indeed beautiful though. (Not to mply that the Axioms are not beautiful. The fit and finish are as beautiful as the sound.) Hope that is not a deal breaker for the wife.
Have fun with your search, and hopefully we will be welcoming you to the M60 Posse!

Auditioned 604s, 703s, and others. M60ti similiar to 703 with less bass. Decided I had to audition the Axioms in my home. Still in my 30 day trial of 60s, 8s, 150 and EP500. So far, couldn't be happier.

any "lack of bass" issues between the 60's and the 703's, would be MORE than made up for with the EP500.

or any decent sub, for that matter.

bigjohn

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Hope that is not a deal breaker for the wife
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Man how can you predict the wife? any wife? now when she was the girlfriend it was a different matter.

But she liked the axioms including the s8's. Cool. I am going to decide on the receiver first, buy it and then place an order for the M60's. That way I can hook them up as soon as I get them.

Where is a good place to get receivers? I am totally new to audio and this would be my first ever music system (other than HTIB's).

Note: I really like this forum. I usually lurk on the computer hardware forums but audio is my newest passion.

I'm not saying I have lack of bass with my 500. But I am pleased with the sound quality of the 60's range.

In reply to:

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Note: I really like this forum.

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That's 'cuz we're all such great people!

yea, all but the FREAKS!!!

bigjohn

Ubid has some great buys on new and/or refurbished receivers in the $400-600 range.

In reply to:

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yea, all but the FREAKS!!!

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this coming from the guy who reallllly loves the speakers! Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what i mean, say no more!

Question to Mark,

Does the pink elephant loose any weight after all that spot dancing?

I don't know what you're talking about. You're not seeing pink elephants, are you?

Seriously, if he ever did, I'd join 'em!

Yes, this is a great board. Nobody gets pissed if you don't like Axioms (unless you're rude - this has nothing to do w/ speakers, just common courtesy), most recognize there are other good speaker companies out there (no 'Axiom is IT, everything else sucks' attitude), lots of helpful people, including bonafide experts in the field.

I usually just read, because I know next to squat when it comes to speakers - but I hope you find the speakers you like, sound-wise and look-wise.

Apd, aside from the fact we apparently have you completely fooled about being friendly , there is some opportunity for recievers to be had.

You can. check ecost for Denon refurb (authorized etailer with a pretty good track record) and pick up a Denon 2105/2805/3805 for a good discount. HK also has their own online store for their refurb equipment. As you might expect, the offerings come and go based on the available inventory.

Don't know what to tell you about Yamaha, Onkyo, etc. opportunities.

Since you are looking for suggestions I think you can't go wrong with a Denon 2805/985. It has more than enough power for M60s and has more inputs than you'll ever need.

The first weekend I bought it, we watched movies at -15db. Friends came over and we were mixing -10db to -5db for several hours and the receiver was barely warm! Now those are some efficient speakers. Awesome combo IMO

Of course you can't go wrong with an HK, Yamaha, Pioneer either. Focus on features and price.

I have M60ti, VP150 and 4 Qs8s. I just moved them down to the basement last night (22x15x8). I am using HK (AVR335) and I love it... love it a lott!! The hk is 55 watts and my first thought was it would be weak for the speakers... but upong testing last night... the amp just handled them perfectly. The low freq is also good... clarity was awesome watching the eagles... can't be any happier.

Before getting the m60ti, i auditioned paradigm... and I wasn't solved. The sound details wasn't that complete for me.

Onkyo - J&R had some good prices on refurbs a couple weeks ago ($400 for the 702).

AP, you should be delighted with the M60s. As far as the receiver, what might be the best deal in your price range is the HK635 on sale here for $680 with free shipping.