Peter (pmbuko) and I had been shopping for speakers for me and for him for awhile (I didn't get any at that time), so I knew what I liked: Magnepans and Revels. Paradigms were pretty good, but they didn't knock my socks off like the Maggies or the Revels, both of which were very, very much out of my price range.
Peter ended up getting some Axiom M22s as part of a downsizing deal with his wife (he had bought Paradigm towers). He invited me over to listen. I was pretty skeptical, since I'd seen the online ads, and what internet direct company makes anything good? Seemed like a scam.
Well, I sat down, he put on something (probably Metallica, knowing me at the time), and I got those shivers down the spine like I got with the Maggies and (to a lesser extent) the Revels. I was sold. Took me a few years to get my own, but I haven't looked back.
