"hmm. I had considered the M22's but figured since you need stands, that the better buy would be the M40s/M50s.....wrong?"

I would agree with that - and I own M22s. I really like having towers up front in my home theater just because they push more air and do a better job with the low end so the big crash/explosion/etc. scenes in movies are more dramatic. There are some (and probably rightfully so) here that will tell you that the M22s are a great choice - and they are very good speakers.

But I would still stick with M50 > M40 > M22 plus stands unless someone can give you some objective data to the contrary.

I figure that's why they put numbers on the speakers... so my second grader could do the math and decide which one to buy...