You can easily hear the difference in imaging, bass, mids and treble with the actives vs. the M100s.
You don't need so-called golden ears. And it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to compare the listening window and sound power curves to know that the spinorama for M100s is a roller coaster ride compared to the actives. The M80s are even worse!
The M100s sound so good until you hear the actives. It's all a matter of perspective I suppose.
Most of my freinds, even the ones who claim to want and appreciate great sound, are not willing to sit down and do any critical listening for more then 30 seconds or so. I do think your right in the respect that if they hear the right recording on a great system their ears would perk up ... and perhaps I’d get a “Whoa”
For my family on the other hand sound systems fall into the category of It’s good enough if it fills the room (or in the case of my kids and their iPhone if it’s below 40% THD). They are not interested in sound stage, dynamics, or actuate reproduction. Although, my wife asked me the other day when was I going to fix the setup in the kitchen (M3ic). Maybe things are looking up.
