BigJohn - Sorry I missed your PM about the M1s. I have been around, but haven't posted. So I haven't been logged in to see your PM. But, it appears that you found the contact info for the guy that I dealt with.
As far as the M1s go, I picked a pair of these up in order to use them for my rear surrounds. Since my theater is under construction, I had them upstairs in the living room for a while to hear how they sound. As with all my Axioms, the sound is clear and crisp. I have a big old pair of Yamahas from high school that I use in the living room. I was seriously pondering picking up a second pair of these to replace the Yammies. Unfortunately, no matter how clear the sound was, they still could not compete with the big speakers in filling up the room. My wife has always wanted to axe the Yamahas for something smaller, but she also was unable to say that these speakers could compete. So, we stuck w/ the single set which will be headed for the basement.
FYI....the living room is a large room, so I do not blame the M1s for their inability to carry the load. Even with a sub, they just can't move that much air.
However, if I had a smaller less demanding application, I wouldn't hesitate to pick these up.
Spiff - I'm not sure how much luck you are going to have finding a 5.1 receiver w/ zone 2 capabilities for under $100. I have an older Yamaha w/ that functionality that sold used for $300 on Ebay. However, you might want to scan around some of the Yamaha HTRs on Ebay. The HTR line is usually cheaper than the RXV line. The only significant difference is the quantity of inputs and some of the less necessary bells/whistles. If you do find a good deal like that, let us know.
Finally, I cannot address the parallel issue with any expertise, but I always thought that you get into ohm/resistance issues when you try to do that.....sort of why you can't daisy-chain speakers off of a volume control. Guess I'm as lost on that issue as everyone else.
