I spent a long time demoing B&W, NHT, and a few others about a year ago. Like you, I like the 703's but when I saw the price tag, thinking that was for a pair, I was sadly notified that was per speaker. Then I found Axiom, based on all the reviews/advertising I found on other websites. Took the plunge and never looked back. I would say the m60s' are very similar to the 703's, maybe even a little better.
You might want to check the Audition Thread in the "Hearing Things" forum to see if anybody is in your area willing to let you listen. The v2's won't sound largely different than the previous m60's, however, they did make some minor changes to the crossover points.
