Hi NeverHappy,
How far back are you sitting from the M80s, and what are the room dimensions? Did you buy the M80s new four months ago directly from Axiom? Or did they come from a former retailer in Canada, or a previous owner?
The M60s have ever so slightly less output in the midrange and highs than the M80s, but overall they are extremely similar in tonal balance. Not so the M50s, which are quite a bit softer sounding and less detailed in the mids and highs. The M40s are even more laid-back than the M50s in this respect.
The M80s really sound their best in larger rooms when you are at least 12 feet from them, although currently I have a pair set up adjacent to a pair of M22s barely 8 feet away, and the M80s sound wonderful, but they are difficult to set up at that distance and still get a continuous soundstage.
Perhaps it's the source material. Certainly the M80s, like the M22s and M60s, are relentlessly revealing of bad recordings, but with good ones, they are remarkable. The other day, my mega-changer, running on random, selected a Best of Stevie Wonder compilation, and there is a great cut musically--something about "the City. ."--came on. His vocal is awful--heavily EQ'd, and I think the mike preamp was overloading, because there is audible distortion, yet most of the backup instruments are okay.
I could barely listen to it, were it not so good musically. Then the changer switched to a Sampler CD from Mapleshade Records, "Wild Child: Mapleshade's Music Festival" (08132). What a contrast! The Mapleshade recording quality is a revelation on either the M80s or M22s. Horns and saxes with no harshness, wonderfully natural vocals and percussion, and ambient "room sound" that puts you right there.
As I listened, I thought to myself, "fine and accurate music reproduction really does come down to the loudspeakers and the quality of the original recording." The rest, assuming reasonably competent amplifier and electronic design, is all nuances, so tiny as to be largely insignificant.
Regards,
