Update:

I communicated with Brent at Axiom, who in turn talked to Joe VaSSallo. Long and the short of it is, they think the magnet might be loose in the driver, and they're sending me a replacement driver to try.

All I can say is - great customer service, I continue to be impressed, even after all the stories! I will update again after I install the new driver and we'll see what's what.

---- A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing... M60s, VP150, QS8s, EP350 Onkyo TX-SR702, Denon DVD-3910