I listened to many speakers in stores and I liked some Paradigms and B&W. However, I was intrigued by the Axioms (Fredk I believe, turned me to Axiom's website from another forum).
Once I got here, I figured all the reviews indeed warranted a triout for the possible price of shipping them back. Also, after lurking the forums her for a couple of days, I got the sense that people who bought Axioms were very satisfied and very loyal to the brand. At first I was worried that it might be some good old internet fanboyism but it did seem to go far deeper than that. I also could talk with some people at Axiom and their service is indeed exemplary.
Other factors I took into account: I am a scientist and having a speaker designed with a scientifc method that I can understand helped convince me. Also, comparing the design of the M80's to other, pricier speakers I listened to (bigger, more drivers) I felt my chances of getting more for my money were good (even though I know more is not always better).
Anyway, I'm no expert, but I'm shuire my Axioms sound at least as good as much pricier speakers I auditionned so I kept them. People at the company have been a great help (damaged shipping, help deciding on what to buy, etc) so I kept my Axioms and could'nt be happier that I probably much better speakers that I could afford in a store.
