OK, after lots of listening (and some watching today), I am ready to provide early impressions of M100v4s+VP180v3+4xWS10HPv4s. First thing first, NOTHING sounded worse than before! Always the minimum bar for an upgrade!
For some reason, the first word that came to mind, both for the first music experience and video one is "intense." Not sure why, but for some reason, it still feels like the right one. First attempts where: Pire Organ (in large venue), String Quartet (in smaller venue), Sacred music recorded in a church. Then I went for true MC records (ex: Berlioz' requiem with the four brass orchestras in 4 corners, a mass by Biber recorded in Salzburg cathedral, which is one of the few remaining one still laid out as per prior-1900s with orchestra and choirs on the sides rather than the front, and some other music written with for instruments all around the listeners). Impressive.
The QS10 brings a very stable room reproduction. I always found the QS8 to be a little bit "airy" for music. Not fundamentally bad, but maybe more appropriate for movies than music. The QS10 are THERE. Even if they disappear and you don't actually "hear" them, you know you are surrounded by virtual walls that feels just as real as the gyproc ones. In a church, the walls feel so far away. For small chamber music, the room becomes very intimate. For MC music with actual instruments in the back, it's still not as good as having "regular" speakers (I would likely have M100s as surrounds in a music-only setup, or use that for an excuse to get a pair of M5s), but the QS10 are a significantly better compromise for a multi-purpose room.
My neighbors left early this morning so I was able to crank it up quite a bit for a little while (still have to work...). OMG! There were fortissimos that litterally exploded on the ceiling! And I still don't have my subwoofer back. The M100s generate so much powerful and clean bass, it's uncanny. And I could feel air displacement coming from all directions. Those QS10 sure ain't scare of the ADA-1500 (as Mojo mentioned). So for music, appreciation goes: probably better, better, impressive and quite a few WOW here and there. Sometimes you feel like the music is just "grabbing you" and so spacious at the same time.
Now, for video, I had watched a few episodes of Startrek Enterprise (just because I have finally decided to finish that series) last night. Once again "intense" was the first word that came to mind. But today I check some specific stuff (like the car race in Cars). In general, all the action and interactions seem more "immediate" as they were happening for real. Quite a few helicopers moving a round. D-Day in Band of Brothers was so "intense" that I stopped watching after just a minute or two. Just too real for "testing." Then I watched the opening sequence of Lost. The bass was almost defeaning. I watched a few more scenes as it was mesmerizing, almost like seeing it for the first time all over again.
I think next upgrade might be to tackle center channel, but low appetite for now. My setup is tough because I am using a short throw projections in a room with 5'8" ceiling. That causes the VP180 to be only 6.5" from the ground, which is a bit low. I was actually toying with the idea of eventually replacing the VP180 by 2 M5s (Mojo?) that could be put higher and on the side of the projector. I'm not sure. Might try something out with M3s first. My D2v supports 2-centers and I have a spare channel on my ADA-1500.
That's all for me now.
Pretty happy with the results. Not a cheap upgrade, but it allowed me to get 2 rooms surround, one my M80 (and moving the M22 as Front Heights).
