I've heard both the Energy Connoisseur C-9 and Paradigm Reference Studio 100 v.3...and I own the Axiom M60ti. As pretty much everyone here has just said, you can't buy a speaker based on a chart. Listen to them. IMHO, the C-9 sounded like crap, and the Paradigm though decent, didn't have the clarity of the Axioms. (and cost twice as much!)