I can't see the picture of Mikes room, but I can say that I have a living room about 12X14 in a smaller house and my M22ti's can really carry the space without any problem. I LOVE these speakers they sound so good. I just bought a Hsu STF-2 sub, however, because unless you only listen to music without much bass you are going to want a sub at some point. I understand the apartment dilemia though and you will be so impressed by how well these speakers carry vocals and most of the musical range that you will not be overly concerned if you don't step up to the neighbor abuse know as a subwoofer. I have not heard the M40's, but like many of the guys on here I was steered towards the M22' s and never looked back.
