Just got my M3s yesterday and have been listening to a lot of CDs to get a feel. Here are my first impressions, plus a couple of quesitons.

This is my second system, and I have been trying to keep it as cheap as possible. I'm using a Cambridge Audion A300, bought on eBay and a cheap DVD player, which is, believe it or not, not so bad. I'm using Axiom's bulk speaker cables and some silver interconnects I got off Audiogon. Room is 13x25x9. Speakers along the short wall, about 7 feet apart.

Two most obvious strong points: Treble and soundstaging. The high end is lovely. Lots of presence without being the least bit harsh. The soundstaging is terrific markedly better than the speakers in my main system. I'm a tad disappointed in the midrange, given the reviews and what I'm used to in my main system. The mids are not at all bad, mind you, but it tends to be outdone by the sparkle of the treble. I keep wanting to turn up the vocals, bring them forward. At least on some recordings. Others, no prob. But my only real complaint at this point is the bass. Not the lack of it, as I might have expected,but its boominess. It is not blended into the mids and highs but seems kinda tacked on, if you get my drift, and the detail is muddled over. This especially stands out in contrast to the treble, and so the bass seems like it's from a different speaker. On a bassy track, it can be downright distracting.

Now this bass issue might be a matter of speaker placement, but there I'm limited. What I might be hearing is less the speaker than the reverb in along the back wall. But I can't bring them out into the room any more than they are. It's also possble that the cheapo DVD is at least not helping if not to blame. I plan to bring out my Music Hall CD25 at somepoint to test that possibility, but haven't done so yet.

Now what I don't want to hear is "move up to the M22s." I'd love to, really, but the very existence of this second system is pushing it for me. So what I want to hear is either "everything will gel with break-in" or "try the M2s, which will have more forward mids and eased off bass." But I'm open to any responses or thoughts.

Despite my complaints, I really am impressed by these inexpensive little speakers. With the right CD, they sound fabulous. And did I mention the soundstaging? Vocals and piano spread out over 10 feet of the room!