Came in original box with styro corners, manual, wrench, silicone "dots," but no spikes. That's fine. Speakers are in good shape despite the box being left out in the rain for who knows how long.

I have them connected to the old HK AVR-25 (Pro-Logic baby!) that my computer runs through. Just a little moving around and they just disappeared. They are on either end of my computer desk about 5 feet apart and in near field (only about 2 feet in front of me and they are freaking amazing. Plenty of bass within their limits. As a matter of fact they can give you some THUMP even. Just for fun I played "Nuttin' but a G-thang" and got some pleasing vibrations through the desk to the floor. Not wall-rattling but pretty impressive for these little guys. On "I Love You" by Sarah McLachlan there is a a 4-note keyboard bass line down low and you can really hear the smooth roll off of the woofer on the lowest note. Cymbals on all of the tracks I have played are crisp but nowhere near harsh or shrill. Piano on "Sunrise" by Norah Jones is warm and present. Her voice is very smooth and you can really hear the "breathiness." On "Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet the instruments are spread all the way across my desk and beyond the speakers. Wow. I'm really impressed by these little boxes. TINY! I think 5 of these and a sub would make a great little HT system with high WAF. Wait one - WOW again. The drum solo section of Take Five is amazing on these speakers. The spatial orientation is fantastic. The midrange really stellar. Wow. Just wow.

I originally bought these to complete the 7.1 setup in my living room but now I'm not sure I can give them up. I might have to buy another pair (through Axiom this time, natch. No more drunken eBay for me!) for 7.1. I'm just enjoying the heck out of these in this near-field setup in my office. Other than bass extension they are clearly superior to the old speakers I inherited from my Dad. After only a few hours of listening I would recommend these without reservation to anyone who asks.

P.S. Note to Tom Tuttle: That monoblock is in bad shape. Looks like I managed to burn out half of the components. I have replaced 8 parts so far and each time the circuit is only good as far as the last new component. Egad. I'll keep you posted.

"That's some catch, that Catch-22." "It's the best there is." M22ti VP150 EP350 QS8 M3Ti