Hello,
After much deliberation I decided to buy the Axioms instead of the Rocket 750's. I like the look of the Rockets BUT the finishes available didn't really blend with my decor, I read a lot about a laid back sound which I'm unsure I'd like and if I didn't like them I'd have to send them back at my expense. Besides, I live in Ontario where the Axiom's are made so why not.....

Anyway, until I can scratch some loot together, I'm going to have to power the M's with an old Yamaha RVX 870. I'm concerned about the 4ohm rating on the M80's. Is there a significant difference between the M80's and 60's and if so what are they? Are the M80's worth the extra money?

Lastly, is tax included in the price listed on the website??

Thanks,
Joe

Hi, Joe.

Here are a few posts from Alan talking about M60 vs. M80. The post mentioning that M80s sound a bit more forward than M60s is apparently no longer true; Alan had a more recent post which I can not find which clarified this.

Bottom line seems to be that M80s are strongly recommended if you have a large room (>>4000 ft3) or want to play REALLY loud. The 4 ohm thing is a real concern though -- I believe you can hook them up to pretty much any receiver but might not be able to turn the volume up very high without the receiver shutting itself down.

If your room is 4000 ft3 or less and you are going to play at "normal" volumes (pretty loud but not painfully loud) then M60s are probably the way to go.

I have a stereo pair of M60s in a 13x23x8 room (2400 ft3) on a 65 w/ch HK 3270 receiver and when I crank the volume my ears give out before the speakers or amp start to sound strained.

The M80 also goes a bit deeper in the bass, which makes a bit of a difference running stereo but little or no difference in an HT with a sub. Again, the M60s are really good in that regard anyways.

Hope this helps. Here are the threads :

How big is your room ? LxWxH ?

John

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=Advice&Number=62648&page=&view=&sb=&o=

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=ST&Number=62100&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=m60%20m80%20alan&Match=And&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=62010

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=tech&Number=38148&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=m60%20m80%20alan&Match=And&Searchpage=1&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=38144

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Advice&Number=10237&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1

Hi ya Cruz! It would be helpful to have a little more information. What is the size of your room, WxLxH? Does the room open into any other spaces like a dining area or a kitchen? If so, what size? This is important because it helps us to know how much space you have to fill (i.e. how much air you need to move). The larger the space, the more speaker you need.

It also helps to know a little about your furnishings. Do you have carpeting or hardwood floors? Do you have a lot of sound absorbing furniture (sofas and chairs), or is your room sparsely furnished.

Also helpful is knowing what your musical preferences are, and what your volume preferences are.

The standard party line is that the M60s and M80s sound very much alike. But, the M80s will play a little lower in the frequency range (34Hz) than the M60s (37Hz), and play louder so are the speaker of choice for large rooms. That doesn't mean you can't use them in a small room if you choose, but some people have experienced placement problems with the M80s in a small room. Others have not.

I don't know anything about the receiver you mentioned. You might want to check with Yamaha to see if it is suitable for powering 4 ohm speakers.

I can't speak for Canadian buyers, but us US folks pay only the price quoted on the web site and nothing more. I'm assuming it's the same for you Canadians, but I do NOT know for a certainty.

EDIT: I just HATE it when John is faster than I. But, I'm cuter.

>>EDIT: I just HATE it when John is faster than I. But, I'm cuter

Probably. I have cute dogs though...

I'm about 99.9% sure that provincial and federal taxes are added onto the prices when you purchase in Canada. One of the great things about buying across the border is that the tax gods seem to cheerfully overlook the need to remit state taxes, so US customers are able to purchase tax free as Ajax says.

[EDIT] I got the URLs in as well. Har har !!

Yeah but I made 'em clickable. Thanks for digging them up, John.

M80's vs M60's (or even M22ti) -Unique Questions!

M2's "neutral" sound -- what am I hearing ?

M60 or M80- the ohms thing!

Hmpph.

Well said! Oh you just cheated and went back and made them clickable after the fact. Harumph!

>>Oh you just cheated and...

Did not. I cheated and made them clickable about 1/2 hour ago

Added a fourth link while I was at it...

I took some measurements of my basement and I have attached a link to an out of scale drawing of the space. This will give you an idea of what I'm looking to do. It is a large space and is fully carpeted with low pile berber and has drywall on the ceiling and walls. The celing measures 9 feet. It's a lively room because I don't like "fluffy" or extraneous items. I'm a minimalist.

Thoughts?

http://home.cogeco.ca/~4re/layout.JPG

Here's a clickable link to the drawing.

Well, I'm not gonna be a lot of help, because my math skills aren't sufficient to figure out the cubic footage of a room that shape. That being said, I'll try to offer some guesses.

It's a fairly large space, but your listening area isn't that big. I would think you could let factors other than size of room influence your decision. The M60s would probably be just fine, but if you wanted the M80s I doubt they'd be overkill, assuming your receiver could handle them. Either would work.

Where the room size WILL become a factor is in your choice of subwoofer. I suspect you would need a fairly good sized sub to move the air in that room.

Looks like just under 700 square feet, or 6000 ft3 for the whole room. Agree that we can ignore the side rooms so maybe 4000 ft3 for the main room.

The sofa looks pretty close to the TV when I draw the room to scale, so my first thought would be M60s and save the $$ for a big honkin' subwoofer (or two ).

Do you have to pay Northrop a licensing fee for having a listening room shaped like a B-2 bomber ?

[EDIT] Corrected for 9-foot ceiling

Thanks John. I think you're suggestion about the M60s and a big sub (or two) is a good one. Laughed aloud at the B-2 analogy.