In June, I auditioned both in my house before returning the Athenas. The AS-F2 has two advantages over the M60s: they are $200/pair cheaper and play 4 dB louder (AVIA DVD with a Radio Shack SPL meter). The M60s outperform the AS-F2s in every other respect. I found the M60s to be much more accurate, with greater detail, better midrange and treble performance, and tighter bass. The M60s also have better imaging and soundstaging. These were not subtle differences. Even my 17-year old son found the differences obvious without any input from me. I purchased the Athenas first and had them for a week before listening to the Axioms. At first, I was so happy with the Athenas that I nearly canceled my Axiom order. I'm very glad that I did not. Although the AS-F2 is a solid product, the M60 is by far the superior speaker. In comparison, I found the Athenas to be far too laid back with fairly muddy bass. I would have been perfectly happy with the Athenas had I not heard the M60s side-by-side. Having done so, I can say that it was a no-brainer in my opinion to upgrade to the M60. To use a car analogy, the AS-F2 is a VW, and the M60 is a BMW.
