Have had the M60's for several weeks now and all I can say is "wow", they are definitely "made to be played"! They are like chained beasts next to our entertainment center, since they do not get a chance to really come alive when anyone else is in the house. At least my wife likes them better without the grilles on. I never thought I would say they may be too much speaker for our house, but now I want to finish the basement for a "real" room to play them in! They don't deserve to languish at about -25 db most of the time...

I know the feeling, but for my system -25 dB hits 95dB spl in my room with M80's and that's LOUD. I recently auditioned the system for a board member and the loudest we had the volume was -28dB and most of the demo was at -32dB and after the 1.5 hours that the demo lasted my ears were ringing. When I first got my system hooked up I, too, thought that they needed to be played loud in order for them to sound their 'best'. But now after lots of tweeking and calibrations and 10-300Hz test tones they really sound just as amazing at much lower volume levels and even better when turned up. Keep playing with your settings, I think you'll find that a lower volume level that sounds great in your room and you'll keep your hearing a little longer.

Scott