I received my M60s a week ago, and I'm not hearing much difference between those and my current Energy C-8. Both are tower speakers. I ordered the M80s to see if that makes the difference; they should arrive in a week of so.

I listened to the Magnapan 1.7 this weekend and rally liked that speaker. Has anyone compared these, or does anyone have any experience with the Magnapan?

I listed to stereo mostly, but whatever I buy has to fit into our home theater system too. The dealer says that would be no problem with the Magnapan, and we know the M80 will work.

Thanks for your help with this!

Steve

The person you want to talk with is CraigSub. He is the one who has done the most on comparing speakers to each other.

I had a pair of Energy C-3 and the move from them to M80 was absolutely huge. Funnily though I went from a larger Celestion DL8 speakers to the Energy C-3 and thought that there was a great improvement at the time. But I also upgrade to a far better receiver and didn't put the weight into knowing how much impact a good high current amp could have.

I have never owned a Magnapan electrostatic speaker. I gather that there are those who adore them and those who abhor them. Personally I found that they didn't really do anything for me as the sound was to linear and didn't have the live warmth to them that I like. it might be part that they were not setup correctly??

have not heard the M60 so I can't say how they sound but I found the wall mount M3 that I tried once to be a bit lacking when held up against the larger speakers.

But once you get into a HT setup you are stuck with what form of compromise you are willing to take.

btw: ask Craig about is thoughts on the LFR's.. Where is Craig? we have not heard from him in quite a while.

From the other site where Craig is doing the sub testing, it seems that he is having some personal/family/work issues that are taking up his time for the next while...

TAM

If I had the money I would pick up a pair in a heartbeat. I have not heard another pair of speakers with such clarity on female vocals. I must admit though that I do not make a habit of listening to audio equipment I cannot afford.

Yeah, I'd probably be thinking about comparing the LFR660s or the 880s to the Maggies rather than M80s. That said, I love my M80s and they're a lot more forgiving to set up than Maggies. Loved the Maggies I've heard, too, for that matter, but I've never done a back to back comparison.

And that is why I made a point of never taking a Ferrari, Lamborghini or McLaren for a test drive. No point in lusting after something you simply can't afford.

Ken C., do you consider your M80s"musical?" On some audio forums Axioms get slammed for being intended for home theater, and not 2-channel listening. I'm listening to my M60s right now and they are very nice. I'm anxious to hear the M80. Reviews of the M80 usually say "it's loud," but we don't listen loud. I guess I'm looking for a very, very nice sounding speaker for listening to music instead of just home theater.

Steve

I would say the exact opposite with the Axioms from my view. But then again, I do have the LFR1100s.

My first Axioms were the M80v4 and they reviled sound and texture in tracks that i didn't realize was there.

To me, I think of movie soundtracks to be an awful lot like ketchup. Rather masking of everything that is underneath it.

Absolutely they are "musical." Honestly, I don't really think about how movies sound at this point (I use pretty decent headphones for movies most of the time), but music needs to sounds GOOD. To my mind, sound quality is just plain more important for music than for HT.

The slamming elsewhere is often done by posters who have never heard Axioms & are parroting questionable stuff from years ago.

Go to this thread & check out the links to the reviews made by Home Theater Shack. Hopefully they will dispel your doubts:

https://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/417431/Searchpage/1/Main/24136/Words/exlabdriver/Search/true/Re:_Can't_decide_m80_or_m80_hp#Post417431

TAM

I have a pair M80v3s and can vouch for the sound quality. I have them without subs because I listen to music in pure audio mode which doesn't allow them anyway.

Then I have the LFR1100s and when I play them in pure audio it sounds as if the surrounds are playing. I seriously have to put my ear up to the QS8s to see that they aren't playing. If you want stereo speakers I would go with LFRs.

Thanks for the links to reviews!!!
I've been listening to the M80s for about two weeks and really like them. I do hear a slight high tinniness with some pieces, but I'm hopeful that will go away as they break in.

Anyone have experience with the outriggers that are offered with these? Is the $24 worth the cost?

Ateve