I know this may be an old subject, but I do find the M80's too bright on certain recordings. A good example is a cd I really like, Eagles - Hell Freezes Over. I like to play it pretty loud and it sounds wonderful, but some of the crowd noise is way too harsh. I saw Alan's comments about certain cd recordings and had never thought before that could be the culprit. But I also wonder if my Yamaha RX-V3000 could be a contributing factor. I have been thinking about getting either some monoblocks or a 2-channel amp just for the fronts anyway. I'd appreciate any opinions or comments.