Yeah...I understand.  My theory is if I get 5 years out of the Yamahas, I got my money's worth.  Then I'll get something again at that time...hopefully even better.  But I do hope they last longer.  The fact that they are active makes me more concerned about their power amps, than the speakers themselves.
 
I will say my JBL 4311 have lasted since the mid 70's.  That's been a good value!  ;-)

and yeah...not sure I understand why the M2 speakers are 20 grand.  Especially with the newer LSR series coming in at under $500.

I

I got my 4312s from a friend.  Fact is, he needed money for groceries after losing his job and he was much too proud to ask for (or accept) gift money or a loan so when he announced that I needed a set of 4312s for my studio (and he had them), I knew exactly what the "real deal" was.  So I became a proud owner of a set of speakers that I never really liked the sound of.  I agree that the honky sound is what I don't like about them, as well.  They were good for blasting out a client with a mix, though until I blew one of the midrange drivers tracking guitar or bass too loud.  (It could have been something else - I've practically used them for PA purposes .)
 
I do like three way speakers for evaluation purposes but I always mix on the NS10Ms.  I recently got a set of the passive Avantones too when my old Radioshack Optimus speakers died as well.  I'd love to audition a pair of the JBL 3 way powered speakers but, IIRC, they're like $1500 each.  (Not going to happen.)  The KRK Rokit RP10-3 might throw some sound back behind me another 8 - 10 ft at a much cheaper price. 

Mod Bod
I never really thought about it when I unpacked my NS10Ms some 20 years ago.  I put them up at ear level with the Text graphic oriented in the horizontal position like it seemed logical to do.  The biggest question was whether to have the tweeters on the outside or the inside and most of the studio pics I saw had them on the outside.  So that's the way it's been since then.
 
But this week I was looking at some candidates for mid field speakers so that folks wanting to hear a mix in the small couch behind me might have a bigger sweet spot.  So I ran into articles and discussions about how speakers should be oriented.
 
Part of the discussion involved the NS10 and NS10m and how they came to be oriented horizontally and the reason that position came about.  I even found a post from a guy who had his vertically with the tweeters on the bottom.  Lately, I've been questioning everything that I do and made a habit of so, what the heck, I had a free afternoon and I started moving speakers around.
 
First thing I immediately noticed that the vertical orientation was more focused and "lined up."  The sweet spot was definitely bigger in the sitting position.  I kept spinning them 90 degrees and listening and every time, the vertical orientation sounded better.  And like the one odd ball guy, I ended up with the tweeters down because that aligned with my ears better.  Even the bass response was tighter in that position.  So for now, I'm leaving them upside down.  

Amazing how we all hear things differently while having different endings that bring us all to the same spot. :) I always hated my NS-10m's. As a matter of fact, I didn't like them until I stood them up (tweeters at the top) added a sub and ARC'd them. Now I love them and use them all the time.
 
-Danny

Yeah, Danny.  I'm still fighting the urge to put them back on their sides like the "big time" guys.  That " big-time image" desire is a struggle. 

Totally makes sense. The speakers, or should I say, many speakers, have projection patterns other than omni and especially the horns and tweeters in the boxes.  If they are throwing a rectangular pattern of sound, as some are designed to do, then yes, simply flipping them 90 degrees will either give a very narrow sweet spot where they are heard or a wider sweet spot depending on their orientation.
 
If that pattern is also projected at an angle from the source, flipping them 180 degrees will affect them as well in how the sound is reaching the sweet spot and the ears of the listener.
 
This technology is used in sound reinforcement in churches and other venues to provide intelligibility to the sound by focusing the sound only where it's wanted and keeping it out of where it's not.
 
Good reading and good info. Many times folks simply set the speakers a certain way, as you said, because that's how they have seen it done or they think it looks cool. Experiment and see what actually works better and sounds better in your individual room. Don't worry about the looks, worry about the sound.

Isn't it amazing that we all sweat and cuss trying to get that perfect monitoring situation. Cabs, positioning, sound treatment, etc. and when we're done our audience crushes the crap out of our pride and joy and downloads as an mp3 in to their phone to listen thru ear buds or a ghetto blaster! God, help us! LOL!