These are the specs of my current system. I'm looking at either the M60 or M80, but I will not be adding an amp to them.
Room Size: 20L x 14W x 8H
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V2200 (6 x 100w)
Center: Bose VCS-10 (100w)
Mains: Bose 701 (200w)
Rear: Bose 301 (150w)
Your Yammi won't have a problem driving the 60s or 80s. And you'll be able to drive the Axioms louder than the 701s with less power. Be prepared for better imaging, wider soundstage, improved clarity and more realistic lows/mids/highs with the Axioms vs. the 701s. I used to have the 601 series IIs prior to the Axioms. That was the last great speaker that Bose made by the way. Oh, and you'll be passing the Axioms down to your great-grandchildren where the Boses last 10 or 15 years at the most before you need to replace the foam surrounds and possibly even the drivers if you are in a humid environment.
Do the M80's need an Amp to push them? We really enjoy watching normal tv through our surround and this is usually done at lower volume levels. Also, with me having two kids under the age of two, I was wondering how they sound at lower levels? I've read that they need to be up at a half decent level before they come alive.
Alex, welcome. As with all speakers which don't have a built-in amplifier, the M80s require an external amplifier for power. As Mojo pointed out, the amp in your 2200 should be plenty in nearly all circumstances. Some of its features are a bit dated, but that's another matter.
All speakers "come alive" more at higher volume levels and there's nothing different about the M80s in that respect. Certainly they can be enjoyed at moderate volume levels, although they're capable of reaching very high levels with relatively low distortion. There's no rule that the bigger the speaker, the louder you have to play it.
I have the M80's with a Yamaha 2600, no amp, in a 19x11x8 room with a hallway. I can turn it up louder than is practical when I'm in the room, and loud enough that I can listen to music all over the house. That said, getting a couple of monoblocks is a constant temptation, but I don't think I really need it.
At lower volumes the speakers sound just as good as they do at higher volumes, and yes, these speakers live up to the hype-I've had mine for about a year now and I'm very satisfied with the purchase. I do a lot on the system-TV, Gaming, HT, and music and I'm not dissapointed in any application. Music is quite a treat-even stuff I usually wouldn't listen to I'm willing to try out on these speakers.
I've heard favorable things about the M60s, and I'm sure I would have been happy with them as well. It really comes down to whether or not you'll be tempted to get the M80s later if you get the M60s now.
Oooh, another consideration-I also have two under two in the house but the room that houses my speakers is off limits to the little ones. I would be scared that the kids would damage the woofers-or that they'd get crushed pushing a speaker over. I'm considering the in wall speakers for the room they spend time in.
Alex,
Look at
this. Your Yammi can push over 140W into a 4Ohm load (like the M80s) with negligible distortion.
For your reference, I listen to music with my cheap Denon and M80s at about a half watt per channel and movies at a few watts. That gives me headroom of more than 21dB which is more than plenty.
If you are interested, you can read more about some experimental data and discussion
here.
With my Bose 701's I have 2 x 8 inch subwoofers in each tower, which gives me pretty good base for movies. The base is so good that I wonder just how much more a sub would offer to me. How would the M60 or M80 compare base wise?
The driver of a speaker, even at 8" will never be able to bring out the LFE in a movie. When the hair on your legs stand up, you know what a sub does to the equation.
Alex,
I am sorry to tell you that the 701s do NOT have "pretty good bass for movies". The booming you hear is an exaggeration from about 100Hz to 200Hz to trick you into thinking you are hearing the "real bottom end". Trust me when I tell you that you are missing a tremendous amount of the audio spectrum and an incredible visceral experience without a sub.
The M80s have more accurate bass than the 701s. If you were to do an A/B test, you might believe that the 701s have better bass. But the 701s have bloated bass like I described above. Even with the M80s, you need a sub, period.
The 701s are a complete embarassment next to the M80s.
I was going to try and be a little more diplomatic than that, but I agree with Mojo and SQ. a) You'll want a subwoofer and b) the M80s produce great bass.