I tend to disagree. I believe that there is a hole in the upper bass, that the VP160 helped fill in nicely. Can't really blame that one on the room acoustics, because I'd have the same hole with the VP160.
This was audibly noticeable using the Police's blu-ray concert called Certifiable. Once the VP160 was installed, the upper bass notes that I couldn't hear well before were now there. So, with that said, if a VP160 is at all possible, I'd go with one of those. I bought an in-cabinet model, and installed it below my tv, flush with the wall, pointed slightly upward. But I was lucky that there was a big cavity in the wall there. Those are about 15 inches deep.
Now, to be fair, the Axiom speakers sound wonderful, even with this small hole. You probably wouldn't notice it until you go looking for it. Probably, the only way to get the best sound is to go with M60 and up quality speakers. There will always be some compromises made with smaller boxed speakers, regardless of brand. I doubt that, for the price, you could do better than the Axioms. So, it's not a flaw with Axiom, but, more than likely, a characteristic of a bookshelf speaker that's designed to play as flat and uncolored a response as possible, without growing too large in size.
Anyway, that's my thoughts and experience, YMMV.
Last edited by CatBrat; 10/17/12 05:06 PM.
