Hiya Bud. Welcome.
You know, I read that whole thing. And I gotta tell you, I deeply resent the insinuation that the beautiful vinyl on my M60's was not hand rubbed by virgin nymphs at midnight.
It sounds like you want the M80's. Get them. Listen to bigwill. If you find that your Pioneer has trouble driving them to satisfactory levels (and you might), you can always upgrade your amplification later. You'll probably never have to upgrade your speakers. Upgrades are inevitable.
You may want to consult directly with Axiom. I seem to recall that Denon and HK are recommended for the M80 load. Your Pioneer might work fine. It reminds me of something I saw at my daughter's swim meet - "it's not how far you swim. It's not how fast you swim. It's how far you swim fast". Your Pioneer may not be able to play loud, long.
But I seriously doubt you'd ever be disappointed with the M60's. I have them in a very large room, driven by a lowly Denon 1804 and play them cleanly as loud as I want. They are supported by a decent sub, though.
You probably would not find the M22's to be a satisfying upgrade from your B&W's. You would always wonder "what if..." relative to the Axiom floorstanders.
Thanks for the nice, long post. There is a thread at the top of the Questions/Comments forum listing Axiom owners who might be willing to give you an audition. There are several in Texas.
Keep us posted.
