It has taken a while, but I finally had time to listen to more speakers, this time Paradigms. I listened to Monitor 7s, studio 20s, 40s, and 60s.

I can hear definate differences across all speakers.

The monitor 7 just dosn't sound as clear as anything in the studio line. It was the most obvious in the percussion: it was muffled.

The studio 20s had a nice clear sound, very detailed. I was quite impressed with the midrange on a blues piece with male vocals. Aside from the missing base, what I noticed when comparing these to the 40s is that they sounded small/focused. I presume this is what people refer to as the soundstage??

The 40s were very nice. I don't know quite how to describe it, but they sounded very very good to me. No part of the music jumped out or faded away. Compared to the monitor 7, the percussion was more detailed. It also seemed like there was more sterio separation on the 40s than the 20s and the overall sound was more full.

Having listened to the monitor 7 and studio 40 next to each other, I know I want something with the sound of the studio 40.

Next I listened to the studio 60. Unfortunately it was in another room, so it was hard to compare to the 40s, but I did notice a difference in the base. Its not that there was more base, it is that it was more... textured. Its almost like I could feel the basist plucking the strings (transparent?).

All this was with music I was not familiar with, so to me, the differences moving up are clear and distinct.

My experience with the studio line is similar to what I felt with the totems I lisened to. The smallest were too small, and I could hear improvements in sound as I moved up the line.

Now, what does this mean in terms of Axiom's offerings? I spend several hours going through all the threads I could find comparing axiom and paradigm speakers. The recurring theme is that the Axiom line is more comparable to the Paradigm studio line, with the exception that the Monitor 11 being similar to the M80. Thats good news for me since I seem to like the clarity of the studios.

The question is, how do the M60s or M22/sub combo compare to the studios I lisened to? These are the two options I was looking at in the Axiom line for my space and budget, but I couldn't find any direct comparison.

Fred