OK, gonna pack it in and get some sleep. Have to wake up soon.
I went through a broad selection of CDs to get a feel for how the M60s handled each different kind of music. With a couple of exceptions, everything sounded just great -- as good as I remember ANY speaker sounding.
The first track of Old Loves Die Hard (Triumvirat) just did not sound right, at least it didn't sound the way I remember the song sounding on top notch speakers. The song has a few "runs" across a set of small drums (are they called toms ?) and the sound of those drums seemed odd. The rest of that album, along with Spartacus and Illusions (my favorite) sounded fantastic, so maybe my memory is a bit off on what those drums are supposed to sound like.
Then again, the last speakers I played that song on heavily were early PSB Betas (with the 8" Philips acoustic feedback woofer and one of the first servo control amplifiers) so maybe the drum sound on the Beta was off. Hard to say -- it was a pretty exotic speaker for its time. I'll try to get a second opinion on another system and let you know.
At the other extreme, Kylie's latest album (Body Language) could have been recorded and mixed for the sole purpose of showing off Axiom speakers. My copy of the CD seems to be a VERY clean recording, with lots of HF energy but a very smooth sound. Both Body Language and Fever sound really good on the Axioms... and Kylie is posing on an original Kawasaki Blue Streak in the Body Language liner, which is another good argument for buying the album.
After way too many hours of listening to the M60s, I guess what impresses me the most is the very "open" sound, sort of a "wall of sound" effect but with very precise sound positioning and a very solid, quiet cabinet.
Something in my basement ceiling is definitely buzzing, however.
