Two years back when I ordered my HT speakers from Axiom I went with the M3's for mains. But I was really curious about the sound of the M22's and if I would prefer them so I tracked down SeanF (who has M22's) and he agreed to give me an audition. I brought along my M3's and compared them for a couple hours.
We did our best to make sure the SPL was the same for each but otherwise simply a/b'ed them. On the simpler music like jazz (Miles Davis - Kind of Blue) and female vocals (Diana Krall, Natalie Cole or Kd Lang - Engenue) the M22's were my favourite. The mid's and highs came through so wonderfully clear and detailed. For some of the more involved and heavier rock music like Floyd DSOTM I often preferred the M3's as they seemed to be a little more forgiving or carried the drums and heavy electric guitar sounds a little better than the M22's (not a huge difference, but a little better; and of course had a little more lower end). I listen to a fair bit of rock and blues so was tempted to stay with the M3's but I also just love good female vocals and some jazz music. I loved how the M22's reproduced the sound so I upgraded to them in the end.
That is my vague recollection of the comparison. In the last couple weeks I purchased a pair of M3's for the den so if I get around to comparing the two again I'll post a more detailed description of what I hear.
Paul
