- There's an Axiom M3ti floating over my head right now (OK, it's bracketed to the wall, but it's a well-concealed bracket...). It and its sibling on the far wall have been keeping my other Canadian speakers (Paradigm Reference) company for about three years now.

As you've recognized, the USB connection passes a digital signal (using PCM, the signal format used by the trusty CD) to the 2150, at which point the USB interface on the 2150 uses its DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) to produce the analog signal that the rest of the 2150 wants. Even in the digital domain, though, you can still shuffle those 1's and 0's around. Volume control is an obvious one, as is left/right balance, but you could also have equalization (even simple bass/treble adjustments).