Hi Studioproject,
Thanks for posting the articles. Axiom does have curves from the NRC as well as data from our lab at Axiom, but we do not publish them, because most consumers misinterpret curves. Indeed, even the Soundstage measurements at the National Research Council do not include the complete "family" of on-axis and off-axis curves. You really need to look at all of these to make an informed interpretation as to what the tonal balance of the speaker will be in most average rooms. I'd also comment that the Soundstage curves of the M80ti are no longer relevant.
As former editor of Sound&Vision in Canada for many years, we did all our speaker tests double-blind, following the testing protocol of anechoic measurements established by Dr. Floyd Toole, a scientist and pyscho-acoustician (past president of the Audio Engineering Society world-wide). I used to run a compression curve along with our test reports of speakers, but readers did not understand it so I removed it.
I was part of a listening panel for some sessions commissioned by CBC (the national radiio&TV network in Canada) to choose new monitoring speakers for near-field purposes and in other applications. The listening panel included recording engineers, CBC music producers, and some consumer magazine editors like myself, who had long experience with double-blind tests. Some of the highly regarded pro monitors did very poorly (including a very expensive Urei) in both measurements and listening tests.
I can tell you that the power handling of the M22ti's is generally excellent. I can't comment on the Dynaudio, Mackie, etc. because I've not been part of any controlled listening tests of those brands. Historically, British and European speakers have not had particularly good power handling compared to some Canadian and American domestic brands.
Your comments on the Yamaha NS10 were amusing. I recall going into a studio in Toronto, and seeing a pair with Kleenex tissues taped to the tweeters. The NS10 was sold in Canada as a consumer product and in tests we did, it wasn't very accurate. If memory serves, a Paradigm mini-monitor (I think it was the Paradigm 3se mini; I still have a pair) outscored it by a large margin. I recall asking the engineer why on earth he was using the NS10 as a monitor.
Finally, I do know of several M3ti's and M22s have been sold to recording studios as nearfield monitors, including Mapleshade Records.
Regards,
