Welcome Twelly.
I really have no experience with either the M80s or the QS8s, so I can't really speak to your questions pertaining to them. But I have been using audio equipment both personally and professionally for 34 years, and I'd like to speak to the aptly termed (by hbellow in his post above) "Can O Worms" (as in "opening a can of worms") question.
I am amazed at how widely split the forum communities are about cables in general, and speaker cables specifically. Prices range from what they call "zip" wire, which can be found for pennies a foot, to, as I read in a recent post (might have been on this forum, but I can't remember, thank heaven), speaker cables costing $23,000 apiece. I'm hoping that was a joke, but I honestly don't know.
This disagreement has been debated vociferously, viciously, and ad nauseum, on every theater forum I've come across on the Internet. The arguments can be classified, roughly, into two camps; the "Wire is Wire" camp, and the "Wires DO make a difference" camp. I have seen and heard arguments for both camps presented by electrical engineers and other experts, each presenting diagrams and mathematical computations to support their arguments. I STILL DON'T KNOW WHICH IS CORRECT, and since I'm an old goat, I probably never will know.
For the aforementioned 34 years of owning "stereo" equipment, I've always used cheap 16 gauge "zip" or "lamp" wire. I just recently "upgraded" to some really ugly Soundking, oxygen free, 12 gauge speaker wire I purchased at PartsExpress.com.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&User_ID=18352799&St=9482&St2=88894529&St3=-36220756&DS_ID=3&Product_ID=2792&DID=7
I hate the looks of the clear PVC insulation, but I'm very impressed with the flexibility of this thick, substantial wire. I got 100' for $30, but it's available in a 50' roll for $23, or a 500' roll for $176, if one needs that much. I guess that puts me in the "Wire is Wire" camp, but I can offer you no proof that that position is the correct one.
My advice to you is.........do what you feel is right. If you believe that big, beautiful, expensive cables make your speakers sound better, if their appearance pleases you and you can afford them, then you SHOULD buy those, and be happy with them. If you can be happy with cheaper wire, then THAT's what you should do. The important thing is YOUR contentment with your decision. There is only one person that has to be satisfied..............YOU! So, in the long run, as far as YOUR personal decision is concerned, it doesn't really matter which side is right. Do what makes you feel good. Either way, you'll be satisfied with your Axiom speakers.
