Axiom m80 or other 4ohm owners using Odyssey amps?

sirquack · « **on:** 18 Apr 2007, 11:28 pm »

I was curious if there was any m80 owners out there running Odyssey Khartago, Stratos Stereo Extreme, or Stratos Mono's? Or other 4ohm speaker owners that can handle lots of power like the 80's.

My situation is that I have a very large room, almost 8,000 cubic ft. I've tried an Emotiva MPS-1, however, was having issues with the soft clipping limiter shutting down the amps at what I call, "not very loud" levels, about 100dB from 12ft away.

Can any m80 or other efficient 4ohm speaker owners recommend an Odyssey model that won't disapoint?

Thanks, Randy

Bigfish · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 Apr 2007, 12:45 am »

When I ordered my Mono Extreme SEs early last month I asked Klaus if they could drive 4 ohm speakers. He laughed and told me the "monos can drive 1 ohm loads." I would give Klaus a call.

Good Luck,

Ken

PS. I considered the Axiom 80 System awhile back for HT. How do you like them as I hear they can really sound great in an HT Environment.

sirquack · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 Apr 2007, 01:00 am »

Thanks Ken,

I've owned Axioms for about 4 years, I'm a big fan. I just recently upgraded to their m80v2's and ep600 sub from the m60's and ep500. I also have 4 of their Qs8s quadpolar surrounds (awesome) and vp150 center.

The 80's excel for music and HT in my opinion, and have been tested in the lab for extended time with 1K+ watts. In fact, in a recent test of Axiom's soon to be released 1400 watt digital amp, it drove the 80's for 2wks 24hrs/day at 700 watts RMS with 1100 watt peaks, with no problems.

Anyway, I talked to Klaus the other day, and will most likely give him another call soon. I'm just up in the air on which route to take. As I mentioned, I've been using the Emotiva MPS-1 which is 300 watts into 4 ohms, however, the built it waveform limiter which monitors clipping seems to be shutting down the amps prematurely in my opinion. Emotiva says I'm driving the amp into hard clipping before it shuts down.

Others with rooms like mine have shut down Outlaw multichannel and Parasound multichannel amps driving m80's. This is strange because the 80's are a very easy 4ohm speaker to drive, and very efficient at 95dB 1w1m in room. They only touch 4 ohm in some of the lower freq's, and don't go below.

I know I should not get focused on the wattage ratings of the Odysseys, but I am considering that. Klaus told me it is about current, not watts? For the most part I don't listen to insane levels, however, once in awhile I would like to know that I can turn up the dial when the wife takes the kids to the mall.

And, not shutdown the amp or go into above 10% clipping.

Just not sure I can afford some of the higher end mono's they offer right now.

Randy

http://porterplex.googlepages.com

BobC · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Apr 2007, 01:29 am »

I drive Martin Logan Ascent i's which are 4 ohm speakers (I'm told they can dip to 1 ohm) with my Mono Extreme SE's. I turn it up as loud as I can stand and they don't break a sweat!

Christof · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 Apr 2007, 03:06 am »

I am driving a pair of SP Tech Timepiece 2.1 speakers with two stereo Khartago amps in vertical biamp mode and the amps are struggling a bit at higher volume levels. These speakers are difficult to drive and they have, on more than one occassion, delivered a knockdown blow to my amps. I do feel they perform very well for the $ and will drive difficult loads at volume levels within reason. Keep in mind I'm refering to Khartagos, I need to give the Mono Extremes a try soon as they may be a different beast all together.

St_PatGuy · « **Reply #5 on:** 19 Apr 2007, 04:45 am »

C'mon, Randy, get the Mono Extreme SEs--it's only money!

If you want to go the Odyssey route, you can buy as much amp as you can afford and have Klaus do upgrades/modifications as the need arises, or money permits. Come to think of it, I have some 4 ohm speakers, but I've never hooked them up to my Khartago to see if they can handle it. Apart from heat build up, I'm fairly confident the amp will be up to the task. I don't know if my apartment neighbors will be up to such testing, though.

In any case, I hope you find a solution for your situation. Have you ever thought about using the M80s as nearfield monitors?

Haoleb · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Apr 2007, 05:07 am »

You can always get some stratos mono's off audiogon for pretty reasonable. The warranty is transferable to the 2nd owner. For what its worth when I called Klaus to discuss my options I didnt even think about getting mono's. I had wanted the Stratos stereo extreme. Klaus had told me that getting the Khartago mono's would open up the flood gates and be better than even the stratos stereo extreme.

sirquack · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Apr 2007, 05:51 pm »

Brandon, I have not had time to call Klaus again, things have been busy. Also, I'm waiting to get my refund from Emotiva on the mps-1 amp I returned. Have you talked to him about the other day where your Khartago's got hot to the touch when driving the 80's to louder levels?

mcgsxr · « **Reply #8 on:** 19 Apr 2007, 08:16 pm »

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1182165999

Looks like a great opportunity to pick up a used set, and have the owner ship them to Klaus for some upgrades!

Christof · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 Apr 2007, 12:59 am »

Quote from: mcgsxr on 19 Apr 2007, 08:16 pm

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1182165999

Looks like a great opportunity to pick up a used set, and have the owner ship them to Klaus for some upgrades!

sirquack · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 Apr 2007, 02:14 am »

Thanks everyone,

Just talked to Klaus earlier this evening and ordered what I call a Khartago/Stratos Mono Special.

Can't wait...............................

JCarney · « **Reply #11 on:** 20 Apr 2007, 02:26 am »

I have a pair of Mono Extreme SE's, driving a pair of Dali Grands. They are rated at 4ohms, dropping a low as 3.2, and the SE's have no trouble driving them at any level. Every once in awhile, I will crank up a track or two, and never have the SE's even come close to sounding strained or like they were running out of juice. The Dali's are rated at 90db efficient, and have a reputation for liking some current, and from what I can discern, the SE's have current to spare. I have no doubt that a pair of Mone Extreme's or SE's will be more then suffcient, and will in no way clip driving your Axiom's.

Hope this helps,
JCarney

Haoleb · « **Reply #12 on:** 20 Apr 2007, 05:31 am »

Quote from: sirquack on 19 Apr 2007, 05:51 pm

Brandon, I have not had time to call Klaus again, things have been busy. Also, I'm waiting to get my refund from Emotiva on the mps-1 amp I returned. Have you talked to him about the other day where your Khartago's got hot to the touch when driving the 80's to louder levels?

No, I havent. Tried calling last night but only got voicemail and was disconnected before I could leave a message. Its already 1:30 in the mo rning there so even though I know Klaus stays up late. I think this might be a bit Too late

But looks like youve already got the answers you needed. Cant wait to hear your impressions!

sirquack · « **Reply #13 on:** 21 Apr 2007, 02:03 pm »

Thanks Brandon,

I'm very excited also and can't wait to provide another 5 star review on audioreview to balance out the bull$hit 2 star rating that other troll gave on the KS Special.

There has to be others on here that have KS Specials? Come on guys lets get that rating up on audioreview where it belongs.

sirquack · « **Reply #14 on:** 22 Apr 2007, 05:57 pm »

Man, the waiting is killing me!

Wait, it has only been a few days since I talked to Klaus.

Based on our conversation, there is a good chance I'll have them next week and the party will begin.

Thanks Klaus!

Haoleb · « **Reply #15 on:** 22 Apr 2007, 06:26 pm »

Keep yourself together buddy, its only been 3 days since you ordered them

You got lucky too, the wait time is usually longer then a week! Soon enough those two big white boxes will show up and you'll be rockin out

sirquack · « **Reply #16 on:** 22 Apr 2007, 06:36 pm »

Thanks Brandon,

You know it

I was looking at the Khartago cases. You have yours sitting on serperate shelves, which won't work in my situation. I do have about 13-14" of height clearance in my opening in the AV rack. I think I will use some type of spacers to keep as much air between them as possible. Plus, looking at the front panel, it does not appear they would sit right on top of each other anyway.

sirquack · « **Reply #17 on:** 21 May 2007, 11:30 pm »

Just to keep everyone updated, as I know your all wondering.

I let Klaus off the hook before his trip back to Germany. He is a very busy guy as you all know and had to leave a day early on his trip. The result is my amps didn't get sent out. But that is OK.

Sounds as if they will be on their way to Iowa this week. I'm very excited.....

Vr3 · « **Reply #18 on:** 22 May 2007, 01:58 am »

FWIW

The Khartago does not get hot - that much. I've gotten it warm, but its a hoss.

Haoleb · « **Reply #19 on:** 22 May 2007, 02:14 am »

Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that once I had spoken with Klaus, I did find out the bias was off on one of my amps. I have adjusted it and it does run cooler. Its my understanding that the newer red boards also run cooler than the green boards that I have.