Welcome JN,
I can assure you that you can take these comments, at least about the Axioms, with a grain of salt. For some reason people on other forums, like AVSforum, like to bash Axiom by calling them harsh/bright, etc.. This simply is plain false.
For some reason reason a speaker that is very detailed and true to the original recording, gets a bad rap. To me, this is a good thing. Why would you want a speaeker that actual does not faithfully reproduce the music your listenting to?
Keep in mind, that not all CD's are recorded worth a crap. So if you have CDs that are not recorded with the highest quality, some flaws may come out in what you hear, this is not the speakers fault.
Also, in my experience, receivers don't sound bright/harsh/mechanical, etc. Yes, if you turn on some of the EQ features, or DSP extras in receivers, or mess with your tone controls, this could alter what your hearing. However, flat settings will result in no coloration of the sound.
