We know Jerry was complaining on how much turning the volume "dial" with the M3 compared to his other speakers with the same recordings. If Jerry can repeat this process with this pair and with the same recordings, then we can distinguish if there was a defective woofer with his previous M3's or if it is just a matter of the sensitivity differences between the speakers.

Have you noticed any volume differences Jerry relative to the dial on those recordings with this new pair compared to the old?

No. I still have to turn the volume up several points higher to get the same level of volume I had with my previous speakers.

The exact same from the last pair?

and you're not checking SPL with a meter, right?

Pretty much. I have an Onkyo receiver. With all my previous speakers if I set the volume control to 30 it was loud enough for me. Sometimes I would even have to turn it lower than 30 on some recordings. With the M3S I have the volume control set to very close to 40 to obtain the same volume.

So you would say the two pairs are consistent in that regards? How about the sound quality? Any notable differences?

Consistent. Sound is the same so I guess the problem lies with me and not the speakers. Of course the order I received today was less than perfect cosmetically.

Bummer about the cosmetic flaws, Jerry. But, I agree with you...when you are spending that kind of money on non-factory outlet speakers, you would expect them to look nearly perfect. I bought my speakers from a dealer a LONG time ago (when they had dealers), and while it's a minor imperfection, it bothers me that one of my binding posts doesn't have a hole drilled through it. I prefer bare wire to connect my speakers...but with that one, I can't.

The grills on the M3S seem to be the weak link with them. When they are packaged the logo is pressing up against the white memory foam strip in the box so any pressure on the outside of the box will push right up against the logo. The grills should be packaged in a seperate cardboard box inside the main box! That's probably what caused my broken logo.

But you just said: