in practical terms, i don't know what loudness level is "reference" because my processor is very old (1980s) and only does "Dolby Surround".
i always set volume in such a way that it's a reflection of the movie's reality; i.e. if you take, for example, the scene at the beginning of WOTW where the Mustang goes around the corner flat out, the sound is adjusted so that the car's sound is realistic for the distance it appears to be; when that is set right, then everything else falls "into place". In reality, for me, every movie needs a different loudness level; there is a difference of a few dBs even between the 3 LOTR movies.
If there was "one" reference level, i would have found it a long time ago, and it would be a very good thing.
i have no idea how that would compare to "reference level" on a modern processor, but i will when, in a few months, i get a prepro.
i was extremely surprised when my amp went into protection mode, i thought that the power from the Hafler would be good enough for watching any movie, but i was wrong and now i want to be sure it will not happen again.
so, in essence, you say (grunt) that with the higher sensitivity of the M80s i should not have any problem, right?
