I've never heard RC-10's, so FWIW.....
RC-10's are $600/pair and feature one 5.25 inch driver and one 1" tweeter, max wattage is 175 watts. M22's are $470/pair and have two 5.25 inch drivers and one 1" tweeter, max is 200 watts. None of those specs guarantee that an M22 is 'better' than an RC-10, but it does point to M22's being more capable. If for no other reason than M22's have that second 5.25" driver to help move air.
M22's are also pretty big, by bookshelf standards. They're *almost* like short floor-standing speakers. They're 20" tall, which is almost 7" taller than RC-10's. They're not dainty. And that's good if you're on a quest for loud bookshelves.
While I've not heard RC-10's, I have heard several other high-quality bookshelf speakers. Some were very good, like B&W 705's ($1,600/pair) or Paradigm Studio 40's (~$1,100/pair). The M22's could certainly go toe-to-toe with significantly more expensive brands. Do I think that M22's are outright superior than some other high-end bookshelves? That's hard to conclusively say because it's so subjective. But when you factor in the price of M22's, they deserve to be at least very near the top of the bookshelf pile. So in my humble and meager experience, I feel that M22's deserve to be considered among the best. They really are lovely speakers, and I'd even go so far to say that they might be the best value in the entire Axiom speaker lineup.
What I can say is that if RC-10's sound similar to RC-70's, then based on what I've heard of RC-70's, M22's are significantly better. Note the big if.
With Axiom's return policy, you can always just order them and try them out at home. Yes, if you don't like M22's you'll have to pay for the return shipping, which might be $40 or $50 (just a guess). If your Energy dealer has a return policy, the best thing you could do would be to buy BOTH the RC-10's and the M22's and compare them side-by-side at home. Return whichever you like the least. And definitely let us know how it goes, even if the RC-10's are better.
Good luck!
