I currently have a Denon avr788. I think it's the same as the 1708 just a different model number based on what store was selling it.

Looking to get either a set of M80's or M60's. Wondering if that receiver is enough or will I need to upgrade?

my room is 22 x 26 and I was at merchman's home listening to his M80's and at about 8' away it was at 85db and was about 78ish at 16' back. His room is smaller so the measurement was from the adjoining open room to get an idea of what level I'll be listening to them at. Needs to be about that level due to the noise of my eliptical machine and the fan on it. Plus who exercises to music at low levels.

It will with out a problem, but you may find if you want to listen louder than it is capable of going the internal amps might clip or distort the sound, but I wouldn't worry about till after you have bought the speakers, that little Denon will reach loud levels easily as the Axiom's you are looking at are very easy to drive.

I'm not a Denon owner but from what I've read, that AVR should power the 60s or 80s without any issues. I've got an older H/K AVR635 that's rated at 75 watts and it will and has driven my 80s to some very loud levels for long periods of time without a hitch, although I do have a Rotel amp pre-outed from the AVR to power the 80s ... an option your Denon doesn't seem to have?

It doesn't look like the 788 has pre-outs, but as Rick and Jay stated, I doubt if you'll have any problems driving the M80s unless your listening level is beyond the capabilities of the amp(very loud).

not a problem, I've driven my 60's and 80's with Denon 2805 and Denon 3808 models with no issues to crazy loud levels.

thanks for the help guys. I'm glad at this point I don't need to factor in the cost of a new avr if I go the M80 route.

Jakewash, I was reading the following thread.
http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=177520&fpart=1

I see it's now a couple years old. Did you upgrade to the M80's? Think keeping the M22's on top the M60's is better or just go with the M80 alone?

I took a quick look at the specs for the 788. You get 90w @ 8 Ohms and probably in the range of 140w @ 4 Ohms.

A quick check with a power calculator tells us that at 80db listening levels AND with 15db of headroom for dynamics, you will need a whopping 19w. At 85db you are looking at about 60w. Push that up to an ear damaging 90db and you will need as much as 160W, slightly beyond the capabilities of the 788 into 4 Ohms (M80s).

Note: this includes all the power you will need for dynamic peaks in your favourite classical music pieces. For the most part you will be using much less power, probably in the range of 2-20w.

The 788 should be just fine.

That's a pretty cool calculator. I book marked it. Thanks fredk.

My pleasure. It does come in handy. The only thing to keep in mind is that it is meant for pro sound applications and does not take room gain into account. Its easy enough to adjust the headroom down by 5 db (so if you want 15db of headroom, put in 10)to account for room gain, you just have to remember to do it.

I did upgrade to the M80s, the M22/60 combo is just too unstable for my liking as I have kids running around.


Here are a couple of pics of my current set up

Jay, I really like your set up!

+1 That looks really good!

Thanks guys.

Nice setup!

It looks like the VP180 would just fit

Very nice btw

That's good to know. I have a Denon 788 and was thinkng of upgrading. I guess no need to for now. It would be convenient if it had a few more HDMI in's and out's. At -20dB it's very loud in my 17x20ft2 living room but my neighbors wold have a sheet fit If I played music or watched movies at that level consistently.

Jakewash, in your reply above, how does the richness of the sound
coming from the M22+M60' compare tho the M80's?

Thanks

The M22/M60 combo was very rich and detailed, but my M22s are the Ti's(v1) and IMO have a slightly different sound than the v2's out right now, mine are more forward sounding. I noticed the difference when I had some v2 in my house while doing another comparison with different crossovers installed in my v1's. I think the M22v2 with an M60 v2 would not sound as good as what I had tried.