After many years of thinking about it, I'm finally getting some Axioms.
The bug first hit me back in '05 I think, but my after school job couldn't exactly finance what I wanted. So I've had the plans on hold, but now that I've got a little more cash to play with I'm going to splurge and pick up a pair of M80's.

Just a couple of final hurdles; the first one is getting an amp to power these bad boys. I'm going to go down the Pro Amp route for the sheer price/watts factor and am pretty set on getting the QSC GX5 because it has plenty of power and also regular phono inputs.
So my question is; Is there any great reason why I shouldn't go for this unit? I know about the possibility of fan noise, which can be modded to a quieter fan if need be.

My second hurdle is getting the speakers shipped to Australia and avoiding as much import tax as possible.
According to this page,

All goods (except for tobacco products and alcoholic beverages) may be imported duty and tax free if their value is $1,000 or less.

So my plan is to order 2 separate single M80's, with one coming to my house and one going to my parents house. So basically just wondering if anyone can see any problems with this?

I don't have any helpful advice, but wanted to at least say "Welcome to the Forums!"

Welcom chunkYE!

I know there was another Aussie (sp?) on the forums that recently ordered Axioms and I believe he belatedly discovered the rule you pointed out. I'd see if you can PM him for some local experience on this. Sorry I can't recall the thread or username now. If I have time later I'll see if I can find the thread link and post back. Good luck and enjoy the M80's!

I have no experience with pro amps so no opinion there from me.

The only problem I see with sending one speaker to your parents house, is trying to get it away from your parents after they hear it.

Luckily I'm the one they call to hook up all of their electronic equipment. So I'll avoid that problem. ha ha ha

OK, found the thread I was thinking of while having my morning cup o joe. Hope that helps. The OP is madjak from Australia.

Cheers,

Welcome chunkYE! To play it safe, could your parents actually do the ordering of the other speaker....OR....as I'm not sure how the Aussie import law works, they say that they combine the items and if it exceeds $1000 you have to pay duty, but what would happen if you ordered 1 x M80 then waited a week or two, then ordered the other one? maybe you could get your parents to order the other one a week or two later to be DOUBLE safe!

Re the GX5, there are numerous articles on the internet reg the fan noise on Pro Amps(usually for home use). They usually involve swapping out the fan for a quieter unit, or slowing the existing fan down with a resistor. People say it's pretty straight forward. You have to keep in mind that the fan may hardly ever come on in the less demanding home setting vs what the amp was actually designed for, and chances are, if the fan engages while you are playing music this loud, you'd doubtfully hear the fan anyway. 'Zimm' who periodically drops in, uses a GX3 on his system I recall, and I don't believe he felt it necessary to swap out the fan on his unit. People say you would only hear the fan at very low volumes, but at low volumes you have to wonder if the fan would even engage.

Hope some of that helps.

Thanks for that cb, after some "posts by this user" searching I found where madjak mentions the tax.
I'm fairly certain my 'order the speakers as singles' plan will work nicely. Just didn't want to get hit with some other hidden fees and charges.

Keep in mind, if you decide you need to mod the fan, it will most definately void any warranty on the product.

Also, it may be wise to notify axiom that the two speakers will be married up together at your house.

They do continually improve their products and make slight changes to crossovers, ect. over time based on listening tests. I am certain that any speakers ordered at a similar time would be the same product, but you might inform them of your plan just in case they are in midstream of switching a speaker design and are sending out two different varieties until the older variety is gone.
Again I doubt that is an issue but may be worth mentioning anyway.

terzaghi, that's a good point you raise. Would sales@axiomaudio.com be the best place to send the email?

I'll probably do the ordering this weekend when I drive down to the parents place for easter.

You gotta like a guy who plays the "angles".

Either that or call the 1866 number at the top. I am pretty sure you don't have any thing to worry about but It couldn't hurt to let them know.

Well the order has been placed. Now it's just the longest 4 week wait ever.
I decided to go for the Factory Outlet speakers to save a bit more money and because all the reports I've managed to read have said the flaws, if they have any, are barely noticeable.

The reports are accurate, my M80s and Vp150 have nothing I would consider a flaw. Congrats! And we expect pics from the new Axiomites when they arrive and are installed

Agreed. I ordered M22s and QS8s as Factory Seconds. There is a slight "rub" mark on 1 corner of one of the QS8s. Apart from that, I couldn't find anything amiss.

And the sound is astounding.

snazzd

They're here!!
Well one of them anyway, the other one should be arriving at my parents house some time today. They live about an hour away. I'll probably head down there this afternoon.
It looks like my plan to avoid any import tax has worked perfectly.

I've got the single speaker hooked up at the moment and I'm very very happy. I can't wait to get both going.

Excellent planning. Enjoy your new toys!

Two speakers are twice as good as one! Congratulations!