Too bad that Axiom couldn't help more with the audition.
There are pockets of Axiom fans here and there. If you're far away from one though, there's not much that can be done. I remember that when I was shopping for my M80's, I tried in vain to contact one of the 3 or 4 people in St. Louis (90 miles away) that said they would demo. None responded. I believe that Wid is the closest Axiom owner to me, and he's about 200 miles away. You may be in a similar situation.
My advice would be that if you're really worried about it, and can't find a demo site, just order a pair of M22's. M22's will give you a very clear picture of what the "Axiom sound" is all about. If you dislike it, Axiom will stand behind their 30 day return policy. You will have to pay for the return shipping, but with M22's I can't imagine it being more than $35 or $40 to ship it back to the NY return address from NC. And if you do like the sound, but have no use for the M22's, I'm pretty sure that Axiom lets you trade-up within 30 days too. Again, you might be out for the return shipping. But IMHO, spending $35-$40 to make sure that a $1,000+ purchase will please you is worthwhile.
Or if you're just dead-set on finding local speakers, find either a Paradigm or B&W dealer. Speakers in the Paradigm Studio Reference line have a similar sound quality to Axiom speakers. Pretty close, IMHO. I also think that B&W 700 series speakers share similar sonic characteristics as well. Not to say that either are *exactly* like Axiom speakers, but from my listening experiences I'd say they're "close enough" to give you an idea of what you're in for. Of course, that's all subjective, so YMMV.
