Previous speakers that have sounded best in my room include Dahlquist DQ-10s, KEF studio monitors, Thiel 1.5 and 3.6 models, and Klipsch La Scalas (?). My M80s cleave closer to the Thiels, of course, but with the same smoothness of frequency response, and somewhat better dynamics.

Unlike the previous speakers, the M80s are NOT amplifier-sensitive. My old DQ-10s wanted Adcom amps or they had no dynamics, the Thiels would sound tight in the bass only with LARGE McIntosh or Emotiva amplifiers, and the La Scalas sang only with tubes - go figure!

My only criticism (to date) of the M80s is that at very, very high volumes (that I never listen at), the upper midrange (soprano voices) can become slightly shrill. This is not audible at lower volumes, and therefore not a problem for me. I've noticed the high-volume shrillness at that specific frequency range with multiple amplifiers, though, so I'm thinking that it's an artifact of the M80s themselves - not the associated equipment. Since other speakers don't have that problem in my room, the room itself is not the cause, either.

The "new" version 4 tweeters (which I have in my speakers) are noticeably less hard sounding than the version 3 tweeters which my friend has in his M80s, so if Axiom offers those as an upgrade, I'd think them worth the money.

I've got an AV receiver on the way to temporarily replace my current separates. I've never liked (any) AV receiver that I've heard. Their amplifiers are insufficient to adequately power low-impedance speakers. Both pairs of Thiels, some Magnepan 1.6s, and my current M80s are all four-ohm loads and/or difficult to drive because of crossover complexities. This Yamaha may surprise me, or not...

In any case, I'll continue to occasionally post about my M80s if I have anything new to say. Feel free to ignore my posts as you see fit.

Cordially - Boomzilla

My opinion is worth exactly what you're paying for it!