Axiom Home Page Forums Thread Like Summary - Help needed with M5HP receiver options

Hello there,
I have just ordered a pair of M5HPs and now shopping for something to power those speakers. The primary objective is to deliver excellent musical experience within reasonable budget. My audio sources include a collection of CDs (most ripped to FLAC), Tidal, Spotify and Internet Radio. The basement, where M5PH will be installed, also hosts 50" TV, 4k blu-ray player and a gaming console. I'd like all of that connected to and played by a single receiver which would power the set of M5HP. We are not super-high on surround idea, though we do not exclude it in the future.

After some research I ended up with 2 potential directions:

Option "1": get a stereo amplifier with HDMI inputs and ability to play digital formats/streams. The candidates are Denon DRA-800H and Marantz NR1200. Denon's output is 100W and Marantz 75W. Their list of features is almost identical and both can play most of digital/streaming sources. Marantz is $100 CAD more, probably there is a reason.

Option "2": move with fully fledged AV Receiver, such as Yamaha RX-A780 or Denon AVR-X1600H. They are almost head-to-head though Yamaha seems to be slightly ahead in terms of inputs, supported digital formats and output power.

Since the price range of all those 4 systems is similar, the pros for stereo systems may be higher quality build, but I do not really know. The pros for AV Receiver is certainly a future opening for surround, but again, not primary goal.

Could anyone on this forum provide a helpful hint what would make most sense from the perspective of musical quality? Are AV Receivers capable of delivering the same sound experience when you downmix their output to classic stereo, or there will be a noticeable improvement going with stereo-amplifiers?

Thanks in advance!

I dont discount Paul Mcgowans years of industry experience, but be very careful with his videos. They are full of soft science and in the end are intended to comfort you into buying from him. He is a marketer and businessman first. He is a waffler and a vague dreamer but little else in those vids. His products test mediocre and are very expensive for what you get. Often he doesnt even answer the question....

The M5s will test favourably vs the T5s in the right room. I have worked with PSB product in installs. Nothing special when compared with Axiom. Just another option.

I often help with installs with well heeled home owners. They could buy anything they want. Recently purchased some M5s after years of being on the boards. I now push Axiom for my installs.

I would say the M5HPs are about the best you are going to do in that cabinet size for the price and recommend them highly.

Early on perhaps before you joined, there was a thread, or even several where the discussion was about cabinet finishes and the value to the product. The consensus was that Axiom should focus on the components that mattered to the sound and overall value of the product.

I happened to be in the minority that it would be a nice feature to have choices and real wood option. It was not a popular viewpoint, but my personal equipment included some very attractive real wood finished speakers that also sounded excellent.

I am glad Ian listened and ironically I still have vinyl finished models from Axiom!