No distortion what so ever that I can hear coming from the M2. But they are much quieter than my other speakers (referring to the M22's). I noticed this even before getting the M60 and VP180 when I ran the Sony calibration. It raised the level pretty good about +8 or +9 especially on the left one. I have two other ones not being used I may swap out. The surrounds have been abused a lot more than any of my other speakers due to there location. They have fallen over often but have really proven to be very tough!

Meh, that .5 db in volume is a pain living in my house. The difference in volume that is comfortable for me is way different for my wife. She might be ok with say 25-30 but because of my hearing loss, I like it around 40-45. Not a big deal in the day time but at night after she goes to bed it's a bit more difficult as I have to man the controller to quickly turn it down when loud scenes start blasting. Takes a bit to run down the volume when it goes in .5 increments and then run it back up. I did see there is some new tech in there that might help but I really don't like using those gimmicks because I always forget to turn them off when I don't need them. Anyway, just complaining smile

I don't think either of these receivers have THX certification. I think the last receiver I had that was THX certified was a Yamaha something 01. Awesome receiver really in it's day.

Over all, aside from my complaints, I am liking the Denon sound quality. It's really making the speakers stand out. Looks like the oddities of the 2300 I previously had are just Denonisms. I might buy the 6500 from my friend and send back the Sony 1080. Think I am still within my return dates as well. Also bought it within the Holiday return period from Best Buy. Guess I will just have to get used to the Denonisms.

M60
VP180
M2i
Sony STR-DN 1080