Okay, Bob, so your setup needs more work. You have the time, so relax and do it. The many owners who've experienced excellent sound when their M80s were properly set up aren't crazy or liars.

The first point is to make sure that all the drivers are actually working. Ken pointed out the importance of having the connecting strips on the binding posts tight(although you commented that bass was pretty good). Besides that, if the thin character in the upper bass/lower mid-range that you seem to be experiencing was due to damage that loosened internal wiring to the 5 1/4" mid-range driver you should carefully listen to make sure that it's actually operating.

Then, as has been mentioned here, you should position the speakers so that the distances from the centers of the woofer cones to the three nearest room surfaces(floor and walls)isn't identical. If they are, reflections can pile up in one frequency range, causing a suck-out which can make a speaker sound "thin", which the M80 certainly isn't inherently.

You mentioned a reluctance to do "tone shaping"; don't be reluctant, your ears and listening room are doing it to the speakers at every instant. When you get a chance later consider using the Audyssey room correction in your 2309(following the procedure suggested in the AVS thread)with the "Audyssey"(not the "flat") setting implemented. A more immediate step is to try a few dB of treble cut in the tone control or to toe the speakers out a bit so that you get a more off-axis treble response.

Good luck; things will probably work out.

-----------------------------------

Enjoy the music, not the equipment.