CatBrat what is the primary use(s) for this system. If HT is a large portion of it I hope you are planning to get a subwoofer. In that case my choice would be the M22s + sub since I consider the M22s the best sounding Axiom speaker for the money and paired with a sub will give you full range for any music or movies. If you don’t plan to get a sub then the M60s or M80s would be my choice.
Rick made a good point that if you ever plan to move these to a larger room you might also want to go with tower just to future-proof yourself. However, depending on what you plan to purchase right now the M22 mains could later become surround back, width, or height speakers and the mains replaced by towers in a larger more complete setup. Also even in a larger room don’t assume placing towers will be easy. Most people have to compromise tower speaker placement even in large rooms due to screen height. I spent quite a bit of extra time searching for a house that fit all my other criteria and also had high enough ceilings so I could fit my M80s under the screen.
I own both M80s and M22s and when both the M80s and M22s are crossed over at 80Hz to a subwoofer they sound almost identical to me. The M80s sound a little better in a large room but that’s all. Also bookshelf speakers and a sub can often be easier to place in a smaller room as you can place the bookshelves for best imaging and the subwoofer for best bass and have the best of both worlds something difficult to do with only towers.
Cheers,
Dean
