the goal of calibration was to even out each independent set of speakers so they are playing at the same levels in order to get the most accurate surround effects and soundstage.
So your Aperion's got correctly calibrated and then the Axioms got correctly calibrated. For the second question, if you are trying to compare the two speakers, then you should be listening at the exactly same volume levels. Otherwise, as people have mentioned, people tend to naturally favor a louder sound.
This is where a db meter actually comes in handy. Both sets of speakers are calibrated to be equal among themselves, but as you have discovered, to listen to each set exactly at the same volume level for testing, requires an adjustment on the volume knob.
But this doesn't make sense. I would think calibration would set the level relative to the listening position from the test tones, not the master volume. So speaker A is set to X, speaker B set to Y. They should "Meter" out to the same at any given master volume because the calibration "equalized" them. No? It's like setting pressure valves on pipes. A wider pipe (more flow) would need less a lower setting on the pressure valve than a narrower pipe because the pressure is spread out over a greater surface. But once you calibrate it, the valves on both pipes would "pop" at the same relative pressure. When I switch the speakers out, I do not change the master volume, just the MCACC memory position. And I have to say the Aperions sound much better. Crisper, cleaner, not tiring.
