I'll echo sirquack's statements.
When my upgradeitis reached a critical stage, my wife and I actively searched out and demoed many other brands of speakers, just because I didn't *want* to be an Axiom fanboy. We critically listened to over a dozen brands & models over a 2-3 month period, with the same burned CD, and tried to actually keep notes as to our impression. We're talking everything from Polk and Klipsch, to Bose (no really ,stop laughing.. I mean it...), to Paradigm, Energy, Martin Logan's, Def Techs, and to B&W and Dynaudio, with other brands in between. Still totally and completely unscientific, but it was the best we could do. In the end, we ordered M80's and we quite love them.
I may be in the minority, but I still say that B&W speakers are nice. We spent a lot of time listening to the 603's, 604's, and 703's. I have also spent several hours at a good friend's house listening to his 801's.
To my wife and me, the 600 series (esp the 603) sound pretty good, especially if you like a warm & cozy sound. The 603's were somewhat warm, but the 604's seemed quite warm. We weren't so impressed with the 604's (they reminded me a lot of my old $400/pair Sony floor-standers), but the 603's seemed fine and had a sweet and pleasant sound to them. But they were definitely colored. That's the thing, they have a pretty serious midbass hump. Now to some, that's a good thing, as it lends a certain warmth to all of your material. Intimate jazz stuff will take on a more 'smoky' and rich feeling. Others claim that this effect ruins the material, and that speakers should not add anything like this. It's up to you.
Now when you move up to the 703's, their sound is quite a bit different. They are much 'cooler' and sharper than the 6xx's. Much more Axiom-like, and I think that's why some of us talk about similarities. To my ear, B&W 703's sound very similar to M80's, but they are roughly 3 times the price. We did enjoy the sound of the 703's, but my wallet ran away and hid in the corner.
As I mentioned, my good friend has a couple of pairs of 801's in his home. One pair is setup in his reference 2-channel room, and we're talking probably close to $80k worth of gear. They sound amazing. Extremely balanced output with amazingly tight and clean low end, sweet and lovely midrange, and clear and precise highs. The 3-dimensionality and soundstage are simply stunning, and I can honestly say that I've never heard anything sound as real (ok, so the $150k+ Dynaudio Evidence Master system at the local uber-buck high end shop sounded pretty freakin' real). But they are $10k+ speakers. I'm actually thinking of hauling the M80's over to his house and hooking them up to see what they sound like.
Did you pick that up?
As you move *up* in the B&W line, the speakers seem to be less colored and more accurate. All Axiom speakers, from the M2's to the M80's are designed to be neutral and balanced.
If money isn't an object, you want excellent speakers, and you want to impress your friends, B&W's 7xx or 8xx line is a fantastic choice. If your budget is a little more realistic and you still want truly excellent speakers but can live with the 'I've never heard of those' comments from your friends, then Axiom speakers are a fantastic choice.
