BigL
I had the M1's for about two weeks, and my original plan was to buy M1's for the back and front and a VP50 as a budget systems. The reasons were money ( I don't have any ), and, just like you, I will be moving into an appartment in a few weeks.
I thought the M1's were terrific for the cost and size. They are perfectly magnetically shielded (unlike my M3's), so don't worry about that. The M1's were a very balanced speaker, and the midrange ad highs were not recessed, laid back, or rolled off. There was, obviously, no real bass to it, it's just too small for that. An EP125 is a perfect complement. They offered a lot of detail and clarity, as well. Low volume listening was very good.
Why did I return them? A couple of reasons:
1) Listening to them for a long time did get fatiguing. They were sometimes too bright
2) They played badly at louder volumes. I don't mean party loud, there's no way they could take that. Just, decently loud, they didn't play well, nor could they handle loud types of music very well.
3) The M3's were only 100$ CAD more for the pair. The M3's are a far better speaker. They are way more open, detailed, clear, and neutral. Yes, the midrange is slightly laid back, but it gets better as it breaks in, and the bass gets more controlled and less boomy.
I am now looking at buying:
M22s for front
VP100 for center
M3's will go in the back.
It will obviously take a much longer time for me to buy these, but patience is worth it. I hear the M22's are just stunning (ask Alan!). I fthe M22's are better than the M3's by that much, then I'll save up an extra 6 months. These are speakers I plan to keep for a long time, so it's worth spending a little more.
Good luck, and let me know what you buy and how good it sounds!
