That's pretty much what I'd expect given the M5s sounded much better than my M80v2. I think the M50 would be like the M3v4 with deeper bass. With the M50, you'd miss the tight bass, beautiful mid-range and sweeter highs of the M5. Now the M60...that might sound better than the M5s...dunno. I am thinking I might give digital active LFR660s a try when available. If the M5s came in an active LFR version, I'd be very happy because I don't see the reason, in a subwoofer-based system, for having an additional woofer like the 60 has other than increased sensitivity.