I'm wondering if the receiver line out's to the M3's is faulty. I know I have an older Kenwood receiver with an A/B speaker function and the "B" is broke.

Jerry, just to rule this possibility out, can you swap the M3's to the other output? If nothing changes, then a call to Axiom is in order. You should not have to crank the volume much to level match the M3's to your Cambridge speakers.

Thanks for all the advice but at this point I'm still waiting for the email from Axiom with the return shipping labels. It's been 3 days since I got the initial email regarding the return. I honestly don't have the energy to try and figure out what's going on. I'll just return them and try something else. Like I said before I really put a lot of time and effort into choosing the M3's. But right from the start I was let down. First off a red cap was missing from the speaker connector. Then when I looked into one of the rear ports I can see a white wire just hanging there. I'm sure it's connected properly but when I look into the other port on the second speaker I see nothing. Also on one speaker where the top black finish meets the finish on the speakers side there is a very rough edge like the top and side didn't meet smoothly. Just one big let down overall.

Here's hoping you find the speakers you're looking for without too much more waiting and continued grief.

Good luck in your speaker journey Jerry. Do let us know what you end up getting that ultimately leaves you satisfied.

Cheers.

Thanks everyone. I may just stick with cheap budget speakers. This is the second time in the last few years that I bought speakers that had gotten rave reviews and both times I was dissapointed. And both the speakers were internet only companys.

If you can find an audition of the Energy RC-10, they might be your cup of tea along with the Aperions. Aperion has free return shipping, so there is no risk involved. Not sure if the Energy model is still in production.

Hi Jerry,
one of the "best" pairs of speakers I ever bought were a pair of used Ohm's for 40 bucks. You just never know. I am sorry this turned out to be frustrating when it should be lots of fun.

I just scanned through this thread from the beginning and I didn't see whether these M3's were purchased "Factory Outlet" or not.

jerrymb, did you pay full price, or did you get the "Factory Outlet" discount?

Full price.

I hope that when Axiom gets these speakers back that they check them out real good and let us know via this thread what they found out was wrong with them. Hint, Hint.