Hmmm... Well, I wouldn't know about $15K to $20K speakers, but I have really good electronics (though not ultra expensive). I can hear a difference, and I don't mind comparing them to other boxes at any price, and I'm technically a "professional reviewer," (although I don't normally admit it). I think everyone reaches their own personal "good-enough-for-me" plateau and then berates anything more than what they have (sour grapes?).
I'm sure that there is better kit than what I own available, but I've not yet heard it. Some things that most reviewers drool over (Magnepan speakers, for example) just don't work in my room. I've heard them sound good in other rooms, but they don't sound their best in mine. I wouldn't pan them in a review, but I'd have to also note that they do their best in rooms with specific characteristics that my room doesn't have.
For the same reasons that Maggies don't work in my room, I'm not even interested in trying the omnidirectional Axioms. They won't do there best here either.
Cheers - Boomzilla
