>>When shopping around for a HT system I auditioned both Paradigm Monitor 3s and Axiom M22s (A/B comparision) and preferred the former. My budget required me to go with bookshelf fronts and I found the sound of paradigms was fuller(to me). Yes, the M22 were clearer (but not by much and certainly not hands down) it took quite a bit of flipping (A/B -blind)to come to that uncertain conclusion.
I have to agree with that. The Monitors do seem to have better bass than the small Axioms... I get the feeling that more of the Monitor lineup was intended for use without a sub than the corresponding Axiom products. I did feel that the Paradigm sound was closer to what I imagine the M3/M40/M50s sound like, rather than the M2/M22/M60/M80 sound.
Regarding "which is better" the rules for comparison need to be very clear or arguments happen very quickly. If you compare similarly positioned products between Axiom and Paradigm you often get a "some prefer one, some prefer the other" situation... but if you compare similarly *priced* models from the two vendors (excepting clearouts and special sales) then the Axioms do seem to give a bit more for the $$.
In our defence, GuyintheTV did stress that he was looking for clarity in an HT application
