I may have to buy the M22OW and compare against the M2OW in my living room. As much as I love the M2 sound, I find I have to cut the mid-bass by a few dB because it sounds too resonant. That's evident by the M2's frequency response curve. The M3 and M5 are even worse in that department and the M80 and M100 are wayyyyy too boomy. BTW, in the basement the M2 bookshelves aren't over-the-top in the mids and do need subs to supplement them.
My concern with leaving the M2OW behind is the soundstage. Nothing in my living room has ever sounded like the M2OW when it comes to soundstage - not even the actives. Another concern is that they're not too detailed nor too dull but just right. They keep me in the music and don't distract me.
So maybe the flatness of the M22 in the mids will work better in my living room. And hopefully the dual mids will play nice with my room and give me at least as good soundstage and imaging as the M2.
I've discovered the ultimate Nirvana when it comes to frequency response is active LFRs. Admittedly in the basement, I've had to supplement their low and mid-bass response with sealed subs but then again, it's a large room. They don't sound unnatural though in the bass and mid-bass department like most other Axioms do in that room (the exceptions are the M2 and M50). Anyone who's heard them without a sub couldn't tell they were missing anything BTW...until I turned the subs on.
BTW, I am still not using Audyssey XT32 with the actives unlike all the other Axioms I've used.
