my new theater room is almost complete and its now time to buy the speakers. every thing i have read says the epic80 system is great. But I am very nervous to buy speakers i havent heard. I love movies and rock music, so its impotant for this system to rock and sound well. I have a pioneer elite sc-07 reciever, which should be ok with the 4 ohm m80's. what do you guys think?
How big is your room? Do you have a sub?
Oh, and welcome!
my new theater room is almost complete and its now time to buy the speakers. every thing i have read says the epic80 system is great. But I am very nervous to buy speakers i havent heard. I love movies and rock music, so its impotant for this system to rock and sound well. I have a pioneer elite sc-07 reciever, which should be ok with the 4 ohm m80's. what do you guys think?
Yes....welcome. Are you just purchasing the 80's - or one of the HT systems? I purchased an Epic 60 - 500 sight unheard. I worried for 2 years - tried to find somewhere to audition - all to no avail. I finally went and heard some Paradigm Studio 60's as a close substitute to the M60's.
For my experience, my initial reaction was that I was foolish to worry - should have trusted the numerous testimonials on these threads. I am extremely pleased with my purchase.
i would be buying the whole system, sub too. the room is 20x25.
I've heard that Pioneers have a harder time powering the M80's but so far I haven't heard any testimonials of anyone with any of the Elite series. I have the cheapest of the Elite AVR's and I'm only powering M22's and a W100 with it and it barely gets warm. But since I haven't tried the M80's I can't say for sure.
(For the regulars - not trying to spark another 80's vs 60's thread)......I can recommend the 60's (which no receiver has a problem with) coupled with a 500 as an awesome setup.
Derik, the SC-07 should drive the M80's with no issues. Check out this
thread where Peter auditioned an SC-05 with his M80's and had no trouble. The SC-07 of course has more power than the SC-05 so I would say you're fine. The ICE amps in the SC series are amazing performers. BTW, I have the SC-05 with the W series of Axioms.
And as far as liking an Axiom HT, I think you will be thrilled. I haven't posted about it yet, but I just built a much more expensive HT with another speaker brand for my in-laws. While their system sounds great I am starting to realise in particular just how special the QS8's are as surrounds. And those would be combined with the amazing M80's in the setup you're looking at. (full disclosure - I have not heard the M80's myself).
Good luck!
For rock, the M80s are fantastic. Strike that, they're fantastic for all music.
I like them so much, I bought the company!
Oh wait, that was just a dream.
Derik, you might want to let the forum know roughly where you're located, perhaps someone can give you an audition or check the "hearing things" thread or contact Axiom, maybe they can recommend an audition with someone. On the other hand, if you are able to audition some Paradigm Studio 60/100, many of us feel they sound similar to Axiom M60/M80s. You'd also be hard pressed to find a better surround speaker than the QS8 at just about any price IMO. Good luck.
I only recommend the Epic 80 - 800 7.4 system.
I had to go and look to see if they actually marketed such a monster. That would be insane. In a good way, of course.
Well, they only offer it in high gloss rosewood.
You have to be prepared for those 140 dB spikes at 18 hz, come on now
Aha. I see they do offer it. I wasn't going deep enough.
Holy moses.
Hey, Axiom, where's the 11.4 and 11.8 systems?
They must have put up the Epic 80-800 system just recently, seems like a couple of weeks ago it wasn't up *I think*.
An Epic 80-800 7.4 system, that would be killer.
Yea Derik, the 80-800 system is what you'll need to be thinking about, for certain.
The best part is, I made that up, I didn't realize it was on the site.
good stuff.
Derik, where are you located? also, don't forget about axioms return policy
Yes Derik, where your digs be?
Hey why don't they have an Epic 60/800 package up? Not that you couldn't put one together of course, but why not show that awesome combo as well?
Eh, who buys M60s?
<runs away>
LOL, I wonder how long has this whole M80 vs M60 thing has been going on...
Ken started it when he had 10 posts.
About as long as the M50 vs anything else. Oh wait, that's pretty much dead.
RIP, M50 posse.
As long as I can remember.
Aw heck, Randy, when I had 10 posts, I didn't have Axioms at all! Don't think I got my 50s until I had about 1000 posts, and probably not the 80s until I was well into the 3000s.
This morning at best
Aw heck, Randy, when I had 10 posts, I didn't have Axioms at all! Don't think I got my 50s until I had about 1000 posts, and probably not the 80s until I was well into the 3000s.
SO......Did Ken start it or not? I knew this was going to happen.
Moi? I never start things.
<tweeeet> blows whistle...
Both of you, in the box! 2 minutes for thread derailment and a 5 minute major for derailing a first time poster!
Well, umm nevermind. There isn't a penalty box big enough for this board.
Seriously though. Welcome.
I'll echo the thoughts of those above. Don't be afraid to order unheard. You ave 30 days to return them which should give you lots of time to try them out. I can almost guarantee that you will not have to worry about any return shipping costs because you will fall in love with them.
A lot of audio shops carry Paradygm Studios. Only a rare shop will have the Signature series in stock. Take a run out and find some Studio Series front to listen to. They are very often compared to Axiom M80s and M60s. I myself found my friends indistinguishable from my M60s when we set them side by side and did an informal comparison. The biggest difference is that I paid less than him which even he agreed to.
We don't have a decent audio shop within a 100 miles of Winston Salem. There are a few custom installers that maintain small showrooms and that are relying heavily on "Snob Appeal" to sell their "lines". That is where I heard the Studio 60's. I could not do a direct A-B comparison like Murph but relying on memory, the Studios were very like the M60's. You can check some of my posts right after I received my setup back in May. I am a very discriminating buyer when spending this type of cash - no matter what it is. My posts were along the lines that no one should hesitate as the speakers live up to their reputation. DO IT!
i live in michigan and both of the nice stereo shops by me have closed. we only have best buy, but there speakers are cheap. there are a couple shops about an hour away that sell psb speakers, but axiom has gotten real good reviews. i dont care about the cost difference, i just want a nice pair of loud speakers that rock.
Hi Derik,
And welcome. You will be thrilled with a pair of M80 v2s for both rock (Ian Colquhoun, the designer and owner of Axiom loves rock 'n' roll) and classical (I've moved away from a lot of rock from my youth into classical and opera).
After decades of double-blind tests of top Canadian brands during the time when I was editing audio/video magazines, I can assure you that the Paradigm Studio series and PSB's top line (used to be Stratus Gold; now Signature I think) are very similar in tonal quality and neutrality to the Axiom M80s, but at several thousands more per pair). I recently heard PSB's new top of the line towers, and while they're excellent, and $5000 per pair list, they did not sound superior to the Axiom M80s. I'd use the phrase "similarly good", which applies to any fine wide-range speaker that perhaps doesn't sound identical but so close that you can't easily distinguish one from the other.
Regards,
Derik, there really isn't any substitute for trying them in your own home. Next to the speakers, the room itself is the biggest variable in the sound you'll end up with. More so than amps or source components. As mentioned above, there ARE some other lines that have a similar type of sound to Axioms, though they all cost more. If you were able to hear those, they might give you an idea of the "type" of sound that Axioms offer.
But still, there is no substitute for trying them in YOUR room with YOUR music. As Murph said above, the cost to return them (though rarely done) in minimal. One forum member points out that even if you DO end up returning them, it's the cheapest rental anyone can imagine to get a speaker setup for a month!
Hmmm... I got called away and Alan beat me to the punch!
Perhaps he could order the towers first, to see if he likes the Axiom sound vs a whole HT. Then after auditioning at home for a few weeks he could go ahead and order the rest of the system(I believe the HT discount still applies within 30 days but check with the folks at Axiom) or if for some reason decides they're not for him, he only has to return one pair of speakers(M80s vs whole HT). The downside of course, is not hearing the entire HT when the cannons start firing!