OK, here's my follow-up... Without a doubt the placement has something to do with it, but the Energys were set-up in a room flanked by two other speakers, we removed one of those other two pairs and placed my Axioms in its place, so the set-up should have been at least mediocre since they probably had the other speakers setup somewhat decent. OK, Axiom vs the Energys, I would actually say that the Energys were bighter and more forward. The vocals were much more defined and truer to human vocals and had a slightly more forward sound. The Axioms in the midranges actually sounded muddy and jumbled when there were too many instruments. The piano notes were somewhat comparable one vs the other, but the piano fit better in the Energys overall sound presentation vs the Axioms where the piano got lost in the confusion of the instruments. I would say that the Energys did a much better job in portraying each individual instrument and spacially placing them within the soundstage whereas the Axioms lost some of that definition and pinpointability, which ultimately lead to confusion and that muddied sound. I also must say that even walking into that store, I WANTED to like MY Axioms better, and yet came out liking the Energys. The soundstage in the store I found was somewhat similar to mine at home, so I don't think the placement was entirely at fault, the Energys soundstage just seemed wider (well beyond the speakers). Just after hearing all the love that Axioms get, I was really curious as to something else that might be attributing to this comparison in which in my opinion the Energys soundly won. (I would actually say I like a brighter sound as to I don't like the 600 series of B&W)
