Geez, didnt mean to stir the pot so much, I found the M22ti's to be much much brighter than any speaker I have previously heard, the sound felt very unnatural to me, but that doesnt mean it feels unnatural to you. Having had musical experience, I am generally familiar with the sound of instruments, and I felt that the cymbals were very harsh, yes, I am aware that cymbals produce very high, loud sounds, but no, I dont feel that the sound I got from the Axioms was producing this sound accuratly, to me it was very straining. I am using a Yamaha, which is typically a bright reciever, this may have a lot to do with the sound. I talked to Joe V on the phone and asked him about recievers, he said for someone in my situation (looking for a new reciever as well), perhaps a warmer reciever, a Denon or a HK would be a better match. I am not trying to rub anyone the wrong way, or say that Axiom doesnt make a good speaker, I just feel that for me, the combination I have, perhaps even my room, made the speaker sound unnaturally extended in the hi's. I have nothing but praise for Axiom and the assistance they provided, even after I decided to return the speakers. I dont want to discourage anyone from buying them, just throw in another opinion for them to consider. Perhaps insanely bright was a bit overboard, but due to the brightness, I couldnt listen to them for more than a few minutes. I guess thats about it, if you guys still have complaints/questions about em, feel free to email me, ill try to give you an unbiased analysis.

Hehe.. well you just gave some of us a reason to grandstand. Don't worry about it.

If you still had your speakers, I would have advised you to break them in for 50 hours and listen again. Or even just 5 hours; I noticed that the treble started getting tamed after just a couple hours of loud use. Though rabbidly disputed on Internet boards, speaker break-in is very widely accepted, and usually associated with easing treble and deepening bass. People often just leave their speakers blaring while they are not at home, just to accelerate the process.

Chess, I provided several facts that might help explain amp differences to skeptics. What I didn't see was a refutation of any of my points. Pick up an issue of Stereophile sometime so you can examine the analyses first hand.

-Cooper

I am surprised and pleased to say that I am also starting to see a taming of some of the treble on the M22s after about 10 - 12 hours of use. I don't care whether it is real or psycho-acoustic - all I know is that I am really starting to enjoy these speakers.

goldswimer,
Speaker break-in is a myth.
It IS a psychoacoustic phenemonon that some ppl refuse to believe could possibly be true. There are valid journal papers on the psychoacoustic theory.

Cooper,
The refute of your theory is simple but you apparently do not see it or do not want to see it.
Stereophile is not a scientifically accepted publication. Magazine articles have not been reviewed by qualified peers and its conclusions are unnacceptable proof of anything.
Any scientist, including myself, can fill you in on the proper methods required to establish proper credentials on data before being able to claim a theory as 'fact'.

Feel free to send me a PM if you wish to discuss acceptable scientific methodology in more depth.

MarkT,
Does this mean you've finalized your selection then?
Or are you still considering the M60s?

"I don't care whether it is real or psycho-acoustic - all I know is that I am really starting to enjoy these speakers."

I've made this point before but it always seems to get lost in the shouting back and forth that goes on when the subject of "break-in" comes up.

Who cares WHY it sounds different? Whether it's the actual speaker producing a different sound, or whether it's your brain adapting to the sound of a new speaker. Bottom line is - it sounds differnt to your ears. Oye...relax people!

thanks for the common sense post there spiff

does anyone actually just listen to their speakers to enjoy the music anymore? ...I do.

I've been on the fence on this one, but now that I think about it I am leaning towards the "speaker break in" not ear break in side. Here's my reasoning. I was at Mark's listening to "Ride of the Valkryies" at high volumes, and the highs were starting to get to be a bit too much for me. I have listened to the same piece on my M22's, which I've had since March, and I am not bothered by the highs. I can only attribute this to one of two things. Room acoustics or speaker break in. Our rooms are somewhat similar in size and shape, but I realize there is more to it then that so I am not ruling that out as a possibility, but there was a difference to my ear two different sets of M22's.

Chess,

I am definitely keeping the VP150, will be ordering the QS8s today and considering ordering the M60s to compare with the M22s I have at home right now.

I'd suggest that if you can afford the M60's order them, try them, and likely ultimately keep them. If you already know that they are just out of your budget then just be happy with the M22 and don't torture yourself with the comparison.