I just watched Rampage with the M5/160/1500-3 combo in DTS HD MA. This is 13' away from the M5s, 14' from the 160 and 11' from the side QS10s in my 4200 cu. ft. space. My 800 is crossed over at 80Hz. I had my Onk at -5 in the beginning destruction scene. After that, I dialed it back to -15 because it was just too darned loud.

How loud? That initial scene had over 60dB of dynamic range. The lowest SPL I recorded was 42dBC and the peaks were 107dBC. Recall how far away I was.

The M5s lack nothing and I mean absolutely nothing for movies compared to the M100. The 1500 is a great choice for driving them. I could easily have opened up the 1500 more but my ears could not take it.

I then switched to the 1000-3 and achieved 105dBC peaks (2dB lower than the 1500). Then I switched from the M5 to the M100 and got the 107dB peak back. The M100s were also more visceral.

In conclusion, for movies, the M5/160/QS10/800 with the 1000-3 get me 99% (105/107) of the way there. To get to 100%, I need either the 1500 or the M100s. The M100s also add more oomph. Soundstage is the same all around.

Now here's a surprise. I also tried the M3v4 with the 1000. No problem getting to 107dB! In fact, I watched the rest of the movie with the M3 and felt like I missed absolutely nothing. And the M3 was on the floor like one of my pictures in the link above. What's simply amazing is that I can leave the M3s on the floor, listen to music and not much changes with the imaging and soundstage!

Music is a different story however between the M3, M5 and M100 and the 1000 and 1500. More on that later.