Good Morning Fred:
Welcome! Tom, Murph and the others gave great advice, but I thought I would throw out a few small tidbits:
~~ Don't forget that you could save a bit of money by buying at the
outlet. The rule of thumb is that if you can find any blemishes at all, they're tiny. That will save $100 on M60s for example.
~~ Before I bought my M60 Axioms, I had concerns that they would need to be "cranked" to be appreciated. Not so; they are wonderfully clear, dynamic and articulate at soft volumes as well.
~~ As a musician, I truly believe the M60s, sans sub, center and surrounds, would be your best bet for now. Unless you have shelving that is at the perfect height and position in your room, you'll end up buying stands for any of the bookshelf speakers, bringing the price closer to the M60s anyway. And, you'll likely feel that you want a sub. The M60s negate stands and a sub for you.
~~ I LOVE concert DVDs in 5.1….but if I had a choice between M60s in stereo or a "lesser" system in 5.1, I would choose the M60s and I
think, as a musician, you likely would as well.
~~ You can drive yourself up the wall in trying to decide this without hearing different models, but, for what it's worth, there are more similarities than differences in the Axiom lineup (this being said by someone who has only heard the M60s, but has read anecdotal postings here for several years). In short, I think you'll be pleased with ANY of the Axioms…it's just my opinion that the M60s will represent the best balance and value to you over the long run. Remember that electronics have a tendency to get swapped out here and there as new features become available; speakers are often considered a long-term investment!
~~ I was a fan of the original Advents in the 70's…. they had an excellent reputation. I'm sure I heard many but don't for the life of me, remember their "sound". Sorry I can't be of more help on that!
