but I'm going to ask it here, anyway. I was reading a message on another HT related board. The message basically said that there are more refined speakers than my Axioms. That got me to thinking, yes, miracles do happen, I do think sometimes. I've seen the term "refined" used to describe speakers before, but no one explains what they mean by 'refined'. Define refine, please!

I think I figured this out all by my wittle self. The work refined and overpriced are interchangeable.

It means there are speakers that sound better And there are. I dont think there are any speakers that have as much to offer as a whole, as axiom. for the price.

Whoa, this is a tough one. In the Axiom price range you can get speakers that sound a bit "smoother" but there also seems to be general agreement that the response dips which give you "smoother" sound also make them sound "dull".

If you are willing to spend quite a bit more than the Axioms some people feel they have found speakers which sound roughly as accurate as the Axioms but with a slightly smoother sound. I think that's what "refined" refers to.

The Monitor Audio Gold speakers are the only ones I have seen mentioned more than once in this context.

The nice thing about Axioms is that they are well positioned at the knee of the "diminishing returns" curve -- you can get better sound but you have to spend a lot more $$, while if you spend less $$ you tend to really notice the difference.

Refined, to me, means they look like pieces of fine art or expensive furniture and cost as much, too.

Bruce, to me "refined" means flat full-range frequency response, widely dispersed and low in distortion. In my view the Axioms excel in these parameters. By the way, I suspect that a few of the guys on that other board would tell you where you could put it!

John,

My latest post on this is probably gonna get me slapped around pretty good.