I'm looking for any impressions any of you have had between the M60's and the M80's. Are there any difference in sound quality and characteristics between the two? Will the M80 tend to be on the bright side if placed in a room that's too small for it?

I haven't heard them side by side, but many people hear have said again and again, that the M60 and M80's sound nearly identical. The M80 can go a bit lower, and fill a larger room.

Unless you've got a HUGE room, or never intend to purchase a subwoofer, the M60's a better choice.

I have the M60's and couldn't be happier.

The thing is, the room I'm in now is open on both sides. To the right of my speakers is about 4-5 feet of space to the window. To my left I have the dining room which I use for my computer area.. I still have a great soundstage as I've experimented with the placements of my speakers. I'm sure I'm losing sound to the sides but don't know how much. That's why I don't know if the M80's would be a better way to go. But more and more I'm also thinking of the M60's.

My room is about 23' deep, 17' wide, 9' ceilings and open almost entirely on one side. The M60's are PLENTY in my room.

spiffnme,

You've got to stop this!! All this talk about the M60's is really giving me the itch. You started it in HTGuide, and now it can't be stopped. Only thing is I can't seem to reach that spot to scratch yet, since I'm still saving the moolah!! LOL!! I read your reply in HTGuide about the comparison you had with your friend with the Anthem & M&K speakers. AWESOME!!

Hey...I'm SAVING you money. The M60's are less expensive than the M80's!

Can you post a link to that?

http://www.htguide.com/CFBoards/index.cfm?fuseaction=Threads.viewthread&Tid=79762&Forum=25&StartRow=1&CFB=1

Heh. Thanks, that was pretty funny. Now, to talk the wife into the M60s and save up money for 6 months... *scratch, scratch*

Craig,

You were way too modest in that thread. I am sure your setup sounds MUCH better than his M&K system. And I say this as a previous owner of a US$3000 satellite/sub (2.1) system from M&K!

Well I've never heard his system, so I couldn't really say. All I know is his reaction to mine. He's not very happy with himself right now. Hahahahahahaha...

kcarlile,

Actually I have my wife's blessing with pretty much everything in HT including a projector. She's as much into movies as I am. I just have to save up the money for HT in conjuntion with purchasing a house. LOL!! In fact she wants me to build my own....correction, our own dedicated HT room. I guess I'll just have to try to split it as I save. $10 for house - $10 for HT. LOL!!

Hi all,

I got a chance to go back for a second audition of the Axiom speakers. This time around I had a side by side comparison test of their M80 and M60. I had asked them in advance if they could set these 2 up for me. They were hooked up to the Pioneer Elite VSX-49TX. All I can say is amazing!! Here are my impressions.

M80

First I will start with the M80. Even with no toe-in, the imaging was excellent. These were very detailed and dynamic. The sound was very crisp and clean, forward sounding, with a pretty wide sound stage. I was able to hear things I had never heard before. At least something that I could now discern what type of instrument it was. One song I was listening to, I was able to hear maracas (like coconut shells with beans or pebbles inside - best way I could describe them) that I couldn't distinguish before. It even sounded like it was coming from the right of the right speaker at about 2 o'clock (position). The bass was tight and focused.

M60

The M60 was still good but not as detailed as the M80. I'm only guessing but this could be due to the M80's having dual tweeters and dual midrange drivers. An example of this was that I wasn't able to hear the maracas with as great detail as I was able to with the M80's. They didn't sound as distinguished and seemed to just blend in with everything else. The bass from the M60's wasn't as tight and seemed to get boomy at times, especially when I played some hip-hop. I'm not sure if this was due to the fact that they were situated right beside the M80's. Though the M80's didn't sound this way even with the M60's right beside it.

Verdict

I enjoyed the M80's tremendously. My earlier concern of them being too bright has been expelled. I believe my earlier impression was due to the set-up and the setting of the HK AVR525 (far). This time around I had asked them to set them up in a different part of their store which more closely resembled my room at home. I've been luckier than most to be able to compare these two speakers side by side. Understandably most are not able to do this because they'd have to order both online.

Most people choose Axiom's as their speakers because they enjoy detailed, dynamic, crisp, clean and forward sound as I do. I've found that most here have chosen to go with the M60's instead of M80's. Many of you have said that they're essentially the same speaker with the exception that the M80's can go louder and lower. My findings have taught me otherwise. I found the M80's were able to reveal things in more detail that the M60's weren't able to. Those of you who think you get detailed sound now with the M60's, would be very delightfully surprised how much more detail you'd get with the M80's. I would definitely get the M80's.

Well... I guess the additional US$300 for a pair of the M80s are well justified then!