Hi

As forums go this is certainly one of the most knowledgeable
groups. Thank you :-)

My question's are: can someone who has listened/owned/demoed
the three sets of speakers or just two sets give me their
qualitative experience of what the listener can expect from
say the M22's vs. the M80's? And will my Denon 788 comfortably power the M80s?

And if you can read anything in between the lines given my audio setup please by all means offer me suggestions and insights.

All I know is that I want me a set of Axiom speakers this week.


The M22's may be all that I need for now.

Installed Components and Usage:

2 Klipsch Icon series WB-14's, Klipsch PROMEDIA ULTRA 5.1 Speaker system
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Denon 788 a/v <--- Wii
^ ^ ^
Sony Bluray Player ---| | |--- Sony LCD
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Gigabyte EP45-UD3P board with Dolby Digital 5.1 spif in/out and
dig cox out 1024MB ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series

Usage is lots of music and lots of movies.
The sound quality from the klipsch's are very impressive and
surpass dbl levels my neighbors and the police tolerate.

room size is 5.2m (17ft) x 7.5m (25ft) x 3m (10ft)


I believe I've narrowed my selection down to a pair of M22v2's
or M60's or M80's. The subwoofer I owwn is adequate for the time being hence the sub's offered by the m80's isnt necesssay.

The M50's were not included because several posters/owners
felt the bass was muddled(?) muddied. ...

Thank You,
Lawrence

I'm not posting this to help, but just commenting that your computer has the same mother board as mine. Although I don't use the 5.1 capability for anything.

I can't comment on either the M22's or M60's as I have not had the pleasure of hearing them. All I can say, is that you won't be disconnecting the dual 6 1/2 inch drivers of the M80's if you get them. They add the 'slam' that subwoofers miss.

Other than that, all I can say is you'll more than likely be happy with any of the three choices on your plate.






P.S.... Oh and get a tape measure out, you'll need to give us the specs of your listening room for us to further our recommendations.

The M80s have no subs, just 2 6.5" drivers, they are by no means subwoofers. They play down to near subwoofer specs but the entire speaker is powered by your receiver, just in case you thought you might have to plug them in.

I have demoed my M22 and M80s against M60s and as you have a sub the M22s will most likely be all you need as they sound very similar to both the M60 and M80s when they are paired with that good sub. Without a sub, the M22s can sound 'thin' but only when compared to floorstanders. What you gain from the floorstanders is better upper bass as a quality sub will fill in the low range no matter which speaker you have.

Having said that, as Micah mentioned we could use some specs of your listening distance and your listening levels. The floorstanders will play louder than the M22s, so if you like to listen at loud volumes and have a large room, which I would say yours qualifies as, the floorstanders are the better way to go.

I ran my M22s and M80s with an older Denon 1804 so your present receiver will be just fine.

Hi chaotic,

At 4,250 cu. ft, your room is quite large and you'd be better off with the M80 towers than the M22s. The M22s will play remarkably loud and cleanly in rooms up to about 2,500 or 3,000 cu. ft, but they shouldn't be expected to fill a room the size of yours at high dB levels. After all, they are still a smallish bookshelf speaker.

The M80s are more refined through the midrange than the M60s, especially on male and female vocals, and are really intended for very high playback levels in bigger rooms. Your Denon will power them with no problems, but understand that all AV receivers have output limits and can be driven into distortion or clipping if run past its limits.

The M80s will cleanly handle peak levels of 700 watts per channel from separate power amplifiers.

Regards,
Alan

AHHHH HAAAAAAA!!!!! Now I have me my answer!!!

HI and Thank You for clarifying the M80's dual 6 1/2 inch drivers
not being subs.

corrected room dimensions:

18ft x 13.5ft x 8ft = 1944 ft3

listening distance ~8ft , varies tween 6-10ft
listening level ~ -41dB , movies and music

Listed are various listening levels per device/media:

bluray via hdmi to denon 788, DVD set to DTS 5.1
e.g., Norah Jones "live from austintx" -53.0 dB = low to quiet
-40.0 dB = low to mod
-28.5 dB = fairly loud
-19.0 dB = very loud


Thank You very Much,
Lawrence

Hi Lawrence,

That's a much smaller space, which would suit the M22s very well. They have quite decent bass, audible to 40 Hz, but their performance is greatly enhanced with a subwoofer. If you wall-mount M22s with the Axiom Full Metal Bracket, they'll benefit from the adjacent wall surface and bass output will be significantly better.

Regards,
Alan

Wow, M22's play down to 40 hz? That's incredible for such a little guy. I'd always thought they cut off closer to 60 hz, which is why so many say you miss out on some of the midbass with a pair of M22's and a sub. I had no idea there was only 4 hz separating the M22's from the M80's!

"Audible" to 40hz... The M80 are "audible" down to 25hz.

I found the M22 + sub to be almost identical to the M60 above the lowest bass range, the sub having an obvious advantage. The M80s had an edge at the top end. They were just a little more transparent: a little more like the band was right there with you.

Oh, you will be listening a littler louder once you get your Axioms. Its amazing how much louder you can listen when the sound is clean and neutral.

Oh.... so what does audible mean exactly?

Lawrence, welcome. My eight years of great listening with the M22s leads me to suggest that they'll give you superb sound in that room, especially when the bottom octave is supplied by a sub.

Micah, as I've reported here in the past, in my room setup the M22s, without sub, are strong down to about 60Hz, begin to fall off around 50Hz, and are much weaker, but still usable, around 40Hz. In my view, "usable" and perhaps "audible" in Alan's terminology, would mean about 10-12dB down. Stronger response when fortified with a sub is desirable, of course, but there's very little musical content around 40Hz or lower and relatively little is being lost.