Regarding +5's question "Out of those; I wonder how many actually buy the M50s when they'd really rather have the M60s or 80s, but the wallet gets in the way? "
I just placed my M50 order via the factory outlet. I was almost set on a pair of M22's, but stretched my budget to the M50's. I do not own a sub (yet), and I'm upgrading from my Paradigm Titans which I've owned for approx 14 years now. I expect the M50's to give a new dimension (actual bass) to my system that I do not currently have.
I liked the description of the M50's as being "layed back" and "smooth". Since my two sons (5 yrs / 7 mo) enjoy many VCR tapes and DVD's of "questionable" sound quality (Thomas the Tank Engine, Veggie Tales), I didn't want a speaker that would sound at all harsh. Having never heard the M22's or the M60's, but reading plenty of reviews, I decided that the M50's probably fit my bill perfectly.
Of course, if budget was no option, perhaps I would have chosen the M60's. I'm not there, since even FO, the M60's are out of budget, so I don't know what I would have chosen, but I'm so looking forward to simply enjoying my M50's that I'm bursting at the seams (and driving my wife crazy).
Our usage is probably 98% HT, 2% music, so I'm not going to turn out the lights and try to determine if a certain musician's chair is scraping against oak or walnut floors... ;-) I do like firing up LoTR or Star Wars and just enjoying the heck out of a few hours of movies. To me, the M50's description is about perfect for this useage. When I get them (approx 10 days until shipment) I'll post my thoughts and compare them to my Titans which I know quite well.
