Hey Nat,
I was in the same boat as you. If you do a search, you can read the string to see just how much I was waffling back and forth. The one advantage you have over me is shipping costs. I'm in Alaska and everything shipped here is air freight. The best advice I can give you is buy both, send the set you don't like back and eat the shipping costs. I was seriously going to do just exactly that, but if the Rockets would have gone back, I'd have been out close to $700 in shipping costs. If I could have done it for $200 or less, I wouldn't have hesitated. Hell, I'm seriously thinking about buying a set of the 850's just to hear them and sell whichever set I don't want. But I'd probably keep them both. But I have to put a new stereo in my truck first....priorities, priorities....
I really can't underestimate the importance of you listening to both in your home. Don't even bother trying to find a different speaker that some folks think sound like the Axioms or Rockets. It's all just opinions, and you that old saying about opinions don't you? Many folks think that Axioms sound like the 703's, I don't.
Regarding the 'bright' statements of the M80's, yah, they are bright at times depending on what I'm listening to. Some recordings will actually give me a friggin headache if I play them loud. However, most recordings sound amazing. I doubt that that's a unique trait of Axioms and that you would find most speakers bright while playing the same screwed up recordings.
Good luck. ........mike
**edit....crap Nat, for some odd reason I was thinking mid US. Sorry, I suspect shipping costs would be horrible to you. Well, maybe you could peddle the set you don't like over there and make a few bucks???
best regards.
Last edited by mdrew; 12/18/04 06:44 PM.
