Very true, you're insight is dead on. However this is assuming our friend Phil here is the type of guy that wants to remain below safe playback levels. This only holds true for the majority of people, 5% of the population is clinically insane and screams, "Damn the torpedo's" while cranking 'Safety Dance' by Men Without Hats past 120 dbs... like me!!!
I realize it's hard to fathom when that sort of thing doesn't interst you in the least, but from what I gather, Ian Colquhoun (the designer of the M80's) fit's into that 5% himself. How else can you explain the A1400? Of course Ian's listening room could very well be larger than most of our homes for all I know. So keeping this on a personal experience level I'll just say that once I pushed the volume knob past 55 on the 100 watt reciever I was experimenting with, the M80's started to break up, sounding as if I'd blown every driver in the speaker. However I hadn't reached the limit of the M80's, I'd reached the limit of what a 100 watt reciever could do with an M80. There is more performance than that inside an M80... there are DANGEROUS levels of sonic capabilities locked within those cabinet walls, you just have to feed it enough power to squeeze it out.
JohnK is the voice of reason on this board Phil. He'll have excellent hearing well into his 90's. While I on the other hand will have to cram an M3 into my ear to use as a hearing aid within the next decade. So you just have to ask yourself, am I a level headed sort of fellow like John? If so then you will probably do very well with just about any 100 watt reciever you can get your hands on.
But if you're drawn to the dark side of the force like Darth Vader and I, you might tag that Emotiva website in your favorites list for future reference.
