Hello.
I am looking to get a pair of M80's and the VP160 center for my home theater.
just your thoughts on an amp to power them I am looking at the Yamaha RX-V475. or should I step up to the 675 ?

Thanks!

Bruce, welcome. If you're considering the relative power ratings between the 475 and 675 as a determining factor, the difference is trivial. 90 watts provide for only about 0.5dB more loudness on brief peaks than do 80 watts, an insignificant amount. If the 7 rather than 5 channels which the 675 has, or some other feature is very important to you, that's a different matter. Either of them can power the Axioms well unless you intend to listen at extremely loud levels or at a great distance.

However, my own suggestion would be to consider a unit(e.g., Denon or Onkyo)which has Audyssey auto-calibration and room correction, rather than the Yamaha YPAO. If your budget for this is in the $400 range, you should consider a factory refurbished model(likely to be at least as reliable as a brand new one)from Accessories4less. The Onkyo 709 is a very good buy.

Thank you John for your reply,

I was in tonight at the Brick here in town and the sales person suggested that I go with the RX-V675. I think the amp can bi amp. What would the gain be by bi amp'ng?
The price increase for the next version is 200 more.

Thoughts?
Bruce

No receiver can bi-amp. The basic requirement(among others)for true bi-amping is two amplifiers. A receiver has one amplifier with several output channels. Connecting two rather than one output channels to a speaker uses the same power supply and doesn't increase maximum power in any way.

If the salesman suggested this as an advantage, his advice isn't to be taken seriously.

Hi John.
I decided to get the Yamaha AVENTAGE 7.2 Network A/V Receiver (RXA830. Found it for 100 off list of 900.

I am wondering if the M60's will be OK for me? My room is very small and the only reason i liked the M80's is I dont want to use a sub and was hoping the M80's will give me enough bottom end.

Thoughts?

The M80, and to a slightly lesser extent the M60, would supply enough bass for nearly all music(excepting the lowest pipe organ notes). For LFE occasionally present in the .1 channel in movies a good sub is really a significant advantage. Of course most of these low frequency effects will be heard through the M80/M60, but less impressively.

Having two sets of M60s, one being used with a sub, the other are not, I'd agree with John. Downstairs in the HT Room, my EP500 adds a lot of impact to movies. Upstairs where it is music only, I used an old 'leftover' sub from a HTiB I had in my first house. It added depth but once I tried the M60s in "Large" (normal) mode, I realized that the sub had to be turned up to the point of exaggeration for it to make much of a difference. I removed it as it didn't match the decor anyway so my wife and I were both happy.

On the other hand, some people are not about natural sound and just enjoy a LOT of bass. If you are one of those people, a good sub is the way to go. I will admit on very rare occassion I crank the EP500 to exaggerated levels when listening to music in the HT room but it is usually a 'friends & alcohol' induced behavior.

Thank you both for the info.

I went to an audition yesterday and listen to m80's! wow what a speaker. Just need to justify it...lol.

My room is very small and I think the M80's are too large for the room.

Bruce, i sit about 6-7 ft from my M80s, and i think it's the minimum distance one can use and still have excellent reproduction.

please check my photo/text in the Axiom gallery or at:
http://www.blu-ray.com/community/gallery.php?member=Gelli