<font color='#000000'>I can not tell you anything about the HomeTheaterDirect line. The Axioms are great, and you'd do well to consider both the M22ti and less expensive M3ti. Were I getting new bookshelves myself right now, I would purchase the M22ti. And you will find many many great reviews of this speaker, starting from the forums at
www.axiom.com. These are open forums where people recommend brands other than Axiom. The people are extremely helpful.
These
measurements from SoundStage reveal some measured characteristics of the M22ti. Ultimately listening to the thing is more important, of course, but you can see here how well it compares in accuracy and flatness of response across a wide range. The Axioms are all notable for how quickly they get up to their bass thresholds, relative to their peers. They don't show frequency curves as flat as some of the world's greatest speakers, but the world's greatest speakers cost 2x, 3x, and sometimes 10x more.
Another well-reviewed, well-measured bookshelf -- which I have not heard, however -- is listed on the Soundstage page, the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170. While I would like to hear this, and it gets great reviews, personally I'd try the M3ti or M22ti first, because of their slightly greater range on the low end. In an ideal world, I'd order the M3ti, M22ti, the Ascend and perhaps one other well reviewed bookshelf, do a shoot-out, and keep only my favorite. Since you probably have a job ... well, try the M22tis.
Birdman</font>