Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions 20 Year Old M80's Compared to Current Model

I am the original owner of a nearly 20-year-old pair of M80's and considering trading up to the current version (I believe v4). Can anyone tell me what I might expect in sound quality improvement (separation, soundstage, presence)? Worth the expense? Thanks.

I had M80v2 from 2007 to 2018. I traded into M5s which were better in all respects (soundstage, imaging, transparency, fidelity). It was a huge upgrade. The M5s are more refined than M80v2.

For giggles, I bought M2, M3, M50...all v4. I like them all better than M80v2. Then I bought M2v4 and M5v4 wall mounts and also like those better than M80v2. I also bought M100s and those too are better than M80v2 but they weren't as transparent as M2, M3, M5. Then I bought active LFRs which are better than M100s but not as much as M80v2 to M5v4.

I've never heard M80v4 so I can't say but over M80v2, I'd expect wider and deeper soundstage, sharper images, and improved fidelity across the entire range. As for improved transparency, I'd bet they'd be no different than v2.

Can’t speak for the M80s personally but the impression from what I’ve read here over years is that there have been big improvements between these versions … that said I should point out that a few people have commented on liking the brightness of the ti versions over the v4. I personally think the v4’s are very balanced.

I can comment on the speakers I own … the M2,M22,M3,&M5 v4 bookshelves are excellent. The M3 & M5 on-walls are also surprisingly good. Of the towers … the active LFR1100 are the only ones I’ve heard and i can’t praise them enough …

Best just to order a pair and return them if disappointed … your the only one who can really make that judgement.

You might want to ask yourself if you really need an M80. Why not an M60v4? It's a better behaved speaker likely because it was easier to design than the M80.

If you need louder than an M60, maybe you should consider the M100 which also is very well behaved. The M100 was designed from the ground up at the same time as the Bryston Model T so learnings were shared across those two models. Andrew did a lot of modeling on the M100 and Model T cabinets to get the responses right.

I have the M80v4 and while I really like them, I do think I would have been more than fine with the M60s (as Mojo had said going in).

On the other hand, I did a direct at home comparison of the M22 v2 vs. the M22 v4 and I liked the v2 immensely better. (The v4's seemed dull.) So much so that I returned the M22v4 and went with the M5s. At some point I made a comment on one of Andrew's YouTube posts about liking the M22v2's and he said I wasn't alone, there's a good number of people who like the v2 better (not more, just substantial). All to say that it's definitely a matter of taste and not cut and dried.

I wonder if the M22v4 has the soundstage and imaging qualities of the rest of v4.

It’s interesting … back in 2016 when I first bought into axiom … I was comparing the M22v4 with the M3v4 … I thought the M22v4 was a bit on bright side. I’m not sure if I’d like anything too much brighter … anyway, Guess it’s relative. The M22 really kicked in when I added the Ep500 … really like that combo.

The M3 was a good compromise to get base from smaller speaker if you weren’t springing for a sub … but also did well with the ep500 … all in all I really like the v4 series

Try to pick up a set of M2v4 and pair them with the 500. It's the most transparent speaker Axiom makes.

The M2 and M22 sound remarkably similar… the M22 is more efficient.
I have an M2/EP500/QS10 setup in my family room … I recommend that combo … with or without the QS10’s

P.S. they are much easier to image than the towers … at least in my experience…

Do you have the tweeters a few inches below ear level?

Depends on how much you slump. Sitting upright they are a few inches below … slumped they are about ear level.

In my rooms, the M2, M3, M5 image like holographic projectors from front to back if the tweeter is about 6" below ear level. The M50s are naturally about 3" below when I'm sitting and they are similarly good.

Neutral loudspeakers like the v.4's won't impose their own colorations on recordings. It's a miracle of science and manufacturing that such products are readily available to consumers. I'd be willing to bet that an M2 or M5 with EP500 will be more than a tonal match against the best from Dutch & Dutch, Genelec, Kii, Mesanovic, or Revel.

But if separation, soundstage, presence are what you're looking for, there's no getting around multichannel and going through a multichannel upmixer like Dolby Digital.

I didn't even know this was a thing until yesterday, but 9.1 audio with 5 front channels is probably the ne plus ultra of music playback according to Dr. Floyd Toole. So, how deep is your pocket book?

https://youtu.be/x4w33TTgRpE?t=60

https://www.dolby.com/about/support/guide/speaker-setup-guides/9.1.4-overhead-speaker-setup-guide/

Now that I've been mulling it over, the soundbar manufacturers are so close to destroying the home stereo market.

All it takes is an additional pair of wide left and wide right front satellites 50º from the sound bar to supplement the wireless surrounds and sub, and no one would go back to stereo pairs and their tethering to a single seated sweet spot.

If homeowners don't want that, there's plenty of mono "lifestyle" speakers to choose from.

Nope. Don't need any of that junk for music. Just a good room, two good speakers, good enough electronics, good speaker positioning, good MLP, good enough ears-brain.

Still lovin me some old M80s

I have a pair of M22V2s in egg shell white, cute, which I use with an 8 watt per channel single end triode tube amp to test FM receivers. I use it with a giant SVS 20-39 subwoofer of approximately the same vintage. The M22V2s sound great. They are in my bedroom, a good sized and well damped room. Never heard the the M22V4s.