i have had a set of white maple 80's for a while and they are by far the most superior tower speaker i have heard.....but with this quality comes a price,not in the speakers but in the power.these babies need a lot more than just the power that a dolbly digital amp has to offer

Interesting post / opinion, but I'm not sure what you mean, since the M80s are the most efficient speaker Axiom makes. Generally a 70 - 100 watt amp (of good quality) is more than adequate to drive those speakers to very loud listening levels. Perhaps you have some other problem if you cannot get them to a decent/satisfying level. How about posting the equipment you are using and what type of listening environment they are in.

I have had the M80's for about 2 months and these speakers are extremely efficient. If the Vu meters on my Carver amp are accurate the highest peaks I can stand are about 50 watts. Maybe it has something to do with the electronics being used.

randyman-this is for you.to some extent i agree that any decent conventional amp will run the m80 but they are indeed power hungry and work better with an amp of higher power,a 100 watt amp barely makes the woofers drive.as for my power source i have a highly capable harman/kardon amp which does the job,although i know they are screaming for more,,,satisfying,yes enough,no.wb on this

Well, I AM at a disadvantage since I have never heard the M80s. So I have to take your word on it, however, a response from Ian or Alan on why this is/may be so (considering the effeciency rating for the speaker) would be enlightening.

In response to your comment about the woofers wanting more power: Indeed, the low frequencies require much greater power to be reproduced at loud levels, but different amps can truly have an effect. And I am not criticizing your H/K amp. But this is an example: Many years ago, I had a 90W Sony integrated amp that had what the company called a "pulse locked power supply", that was supposed to be "superior" the the big heavy toridal (sp?) core PSs used in most other quality amps. Well - it wasn't! That amp had NO BOTTOM! It was great on mids and highs - but that was it.

Well anyway, thats my rambling for now......

Thanks canadian_guy for your observations!

I may have to rethink my amplifier purchase for my possible move up to the M60s - if they are anything like the M80 in power wants/needs.

I don't know why they would be called power hungry, I have a Denon AVR1800 (75wpc 8ohms) and it drives them very well.

I will be upgrading to separates when I can but not because of the need for power.

Given the same amount of power in the M80s will play louder than the M60s. The amount of power required can vary widely based on two main factors: 1) The size and characteristics of your room and 2) Your idea of loud. To achieve above average output in a large room cleanly takes a lot of power because the actual output is not a linear equation to the wattage. So that last bit of volume will take a lot more power to achieve cleanly. This being said, it will be easier to achieve with the M80s than the M60s due to their output per watt being higher and easier with the M60s than the M50s and so on as you move to smaller models.