We all perceive speaker sounds differently, so take my advice lightly. It's such a subjective thing....
Klipsch speakers sound quite different from Axiom, IMHO. I do not like their sound. I have listened to the RF-83 and RF-63 at a local home theater shop on comparable equipment to my own. Their sound was much brighter and harsher on the highs and had much more aggressive bass. Cymbol crashes, piccolo runs, etc had a piercing quality to them. At high volumes it was almost painful. On the other end, massive bass. No way would you need a subwoofer with those babies. If you want mains that can move furniture around the room on their own, they'd be a good choice. Way more bass than even my M80's, no contest.
And tht simply sums up how I would describe their sound; a valley. Massive bass with very bright, forward, and piercing highs, but less impressive midrange. There just didn't feel like there was a lot of 'substance' to the music. Lack of spaciousness, might be another description.
Axiom speakers are, above all else, balanced. Balanced highs, mids, and lows. Accurate (but not pounding) bass, rich (but not too warm) mid-ranges, and crystal-clear (but not piercing) highs. Crank em up, and they just disapear into your room and you're simply left with the music.
Try to find a Paradigm dealer. The Reference Studio 100's sound similar to M80's. Reference Studio 20's sound similar to m22's, although RS20's have more low-end. If you have a B&W dealer nearby, the 703's sound somewhat similar to M80's.
