Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Hearing Things Auditioning Axioms In Your Area

I played my M80s for two hours at 100dB from 11-12 feet w/o shutting down or clipping my Onkyo 3007. I did get it to shut down five minutes later by bumping it up to 105dB. I never got my Denon 2807 to shut down with my M80s but I couldn’t push it as hard because it would start clipping.

The shutdowns Hay is talking about are specific to certain Emotiva amps mainly the XPA-2 AFAIR. Emo claims it’s because the M80s dip down to 2ohms, however I don‘t see aht in the impedance graphs. I believe at least one Emo owner here had his XPA modified by Emo with a different protection circuit so it doesn’t suffer the shutdown problem. AFAIK not all Emo amps have this issue with the M80s just one or a few.

A few years ago it’s my understanding that some low end receivers particularly Onkyos had a reputation for shutting down with the M80s but I don’t think that has been a problem for some time. I myself was still afraid of this which is why I put my 3007 through that stress test to see what it could handle.

I think most people do great with Emo amps even those who have M80s. As with most things on the internet things get blown out of proportion because complainers always outweigh those who praise. It’s just something you should be aware of so you can consider it and maybe even ask Emo if they can mod your amp.

I would actually be more worried about driving a Denon receiver hard with the M80s since they don’t in my experience shut down as easily making it easier to damage your speakers.

Cheer,
Dean

Dean, I have heard of a review (by Ninja)...would love the make that name smaller here. I'd like to know where the discussion is in the Axiom thread.

Wish you were near Richmond. I am antsie about hearing the M80s. JC is trying to arrange an audition in Tampa where I will be next week. I have been encouraged to listen to the M60s as well.

I believe this is the thread you are talking about Rob.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthre...true#Post252179

However, IMO to understand it you need to know the context which also lead to this thread:

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=229651&fpart=1

Which all got started by a thread I can’t find right now were a person who liked what the Ninja crossover did for his M22s posted that here on the Axiom forum. Misunderstandings and IMO some fanboyism ensued eventually leading to the Ninja leaving the forum a tad pissed off.

Understand that just offering to sell his crossovers here on the Axiom site is a violation of site rules which allow no selling with the occasional exception for legitimate charities. Despite this Axiom let the thread continue but like I said the way some things were said lead to the general impression that he was saying those stock M22s you all bought sound like crap but will sound great if you buy my crossover for 2/3 the original price of the speakers. I saw this same thing come up over at the TCA website were people got pissed at his poor choice of words which basically sound the same, that the stock (I think it was an AV123 speaker in that case) sounds like crap w/o his aftermarket crossover upgrade, though I think he smoothed that one over in the end.

Personally I don’t pay any attention to reviews of speakers done in internet forums unless I have read the reviewers opinion on many different things, have some common basis for comparison, and feel that they are evenhanded in their opinions. So basically I stick to professional reviews with a few exceptions made for people who’s opinions I’ve come to respect by reading their comments over a long period of time.

Having just said you should take forum reviewers with a grain of salt , if you’re curious Sean (St_PatGuy) and I recently listened to my M80s in two different rooms and in one of them compared them with his Odyssey Loreleis.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=18571&Number=305734#Post305734

AFAIK Axiom estimates return shipping for a pair of tower speakers is about $60 so if you can afford that then. Also AFAIK if you try out the M60s but for some reason want something that can play louder and from what I’ve read likely sounds a little more forward then you can upgrade to the M80s within 30 day an Axiom will cover the return shipping. Should you choose to then return the M80s you would be on the hook for shipping them back.

I’m curious if you have decided yet what sort of speaker sound you are looking for? IMO the M80s are forward in their presentation causing the soundstage to sound like it’s coming out toward you, and similarly produce a more “wall-of-sound” type effect than many other speakers that might be considered more laid back. I like this sort of sound both for music and especially movies. However, IMO speakers that sound like this are often more finicky about placement in that more laid back speakers IMO have a wider range of placement over which the sound good. OTOH forward speakers have IMO a narrower range of placement where they sound good but when placed well sound better. But I am biased to like forward sounding speakers which is why I was looking at B&W, Focal, Paradigm and eventually bought Axiom.

Cheers,
Dean