Interesting. Though I haven't heard any Axioms in a recessed space, I have heard others and, for me, the difference in sound was very noticable. It wasn't night and day in terms of great sounding and awful sounding, but it was clearly evident that the sound was just "different" (can't think of a good description right now).

I can't imagine that close boundaries around a speaker wouldn't affect the sound. How are the Axioms designed to avoid this?