Excellent review!!!
I also too find Mission speakers very musical and enjoyable.
I also concur with you with all that you have found with the Monitor Audio's as I used to own the Silver S6. As in the past I have said the Silver S6 is on par with the M60. But the finishes on the MA is excellent but at a price. The only thing that I noticed...maybe because it is due to room dynamics is that the bass can be overpowering and floppy at times.
How was big was the room you listened to the Silver S6?
Back then too I wish I had a chance to pair my Silver S6 with better electronics. Back then I was still running receiver components and a hand me down CD player. As with the Silver S6 I had to plug the lower port hole to tame the bass in my room. Both the M60 and Silver S6 had almost identical presentation which was in the same field of the speakers or sometimes a little forward....possibly due to my small room size.
As with the sound I like .... the presentation where the music and stage should be behind the speakers having a deep soundstage...such as if you are in a concert and listening from the balcony or middle of the auditorium. Hence I went with other speakers that suit my tastes.
Here are some that fell into "my prefered" list that I briefly auditioned that I personally enjoyed:
Totem Model 1
Proac 1SC
Thiel 2.4
Mission 753
PMC - any model
Wilson Watt Puppy 5/6
Triangle Zerius
Vandersteen 2Ce
Magnepan - any model
