Have had the opportunity to directly compare the sound of the Usher 'Tiny Dancer' to any of Axiom's bookshelf speakers? I'm not saying it's true, but I bet you'd be more impressed with the M3s if they looked like the Ushers, had a beautiful crossover, but sounded exactly the same as the current M3s.

Since the Ushers are your paragon of bookshelfdom, why not save up for a pair?