Don't let people at AVS scare you. Axiom makes very nice speakers. They may or may not be right for you, but you'd need to listen to them to find out. The "Axioms are bright" myth gets trotted out by alleged golden-ears pretty regularly. It's kind of a risk-reward proposition; Axiom speakers make excellent recordings sound really great, and they make crappy recordings sound, well, crappy. It's kind of like the old disclaimer on CD's when the format first appeared - "may reveal limitations of your source components".
People seem to like Ascends just fine, too. By all accounts, they are fine speakers. Just don't let somebody else's ears choose for you.
