I was not the one that made the white van comment. I don't know why you are fixated on with me saying that when I clearly stated that I would not classify Axiom as white van speakers.
This is the quote from you:
I think the reference TLS made to White Van speakers went right over the head of many here. Many white can speakers look impressive to a layman. They typically have lots of drivers/tweeters and look expensive and impressive.
Sound familiar....
That's not clear at all. But whatever. I think we both have the same opinion of axiom anyways. I'm just saying that blanket statements like "lots of drivers and tweeters and look expensive and impressive" are unnecessary.
Sure sounds like you think Axiom speakers are overhyped too...
I did, yes. People need to take them for what they are. Decent speakers at their price point, nothing more, nothing less. There's much better, but there's also much worse. They're not a company selling you total trash nor are they a company selling you the utmost fidelity. They're a company selling you speakers they feel are pretty competitive, and their owners are happy to own them.
I don't think theres anything wrong with a company cutting corners to make a budget speaker. But Axiom goes out of there way and seems to be really proud of making speakers with the lowest quality parts.
Lowest quality parts?
So when axiom let audioholics use their driver in this test:
Loudspeakers & Power Ratings Part III: The Test Results — Reviews and News from Audioholics
And Paul said this: "Kudos to the designers at Axiom for an excellent design job"
he was just confused?
...Maybe they are really proud of making speakers that they feel (whether correctly or wrongly) can compete with anything, without superfluous costs like overbuilt cabinets, overpriced crossover components, fancy silver wire, etc. Much of the competition "feels" that the design of the loudspeaker comes down to filling it with Clarity Caps and Aircraft Grade Aluminum Enclosures, not the fundamentals.
Where I disagree with axiom is the assertion that their speakers get the fundamentals right. It doesn't seem that way to me as the measurements clearly show an axial peak near 2khz and an off-axis flare of the tweeter, among other things. But those have nothing to do with Axiom's design choices as far as cost cutting, which is where they take the most flack.
And they continue on with there slogans of "you don't need this or that cause it doesn't improve the speaker, so we're not including it to save you money."
This is a for-profit business. Axiom is in it for the profit. Go visit a B&M shop and look at the MSRPs of many of the sub par speakers you can hear. Even if Axiom isn't as good as well engineered high value speakers, that does not mean that they're inherently crap.
But yet they charge the same prices points for their stuff as other brands do with better quality components.
So their products aren't the same value that other companies represent. that's their business.
I also don't see KEF plastering adverstisments all over the web telling us that their budget speakers using lower quality parts are equal to or exceed speakers costing 2-3times as much.
That's because KEF is not a web based company. KEF is a brick and mortar company.
Even KEF's high end Reference 201/2 was shown in stereophile to have "lower quality parts". They made engineering decisions that they feel proud of based on their own research. Axiom did the same. I don't get
some of Axiom's design decisions. Two tweeters. Dual 6.5" woofers on a "reference" product. Obvious tweeter flare in off-axis response. My issue, is that every design decision they make is scrutinized unlike any other company. It's ridiculous.
Once you add the fancier finishes to Axioms the price gets way out of hand compared to the competiton who offer just as nice finishes. For example take HSUs VTF 15H in Rosenut finish $1138 vs Axioms EP350 in same finish $1157 or the EP500 $1644. Thats a huge difference. SVS Ultra Piano gloss is $1,999.00 vs EP600 $2665.00. These are just one of the reasons why there is this "Axiom hate" going on.
Why compare Axiom subwoofers to industry leaders like HSU or SVS when we both know that's very one-sided? How about comparing their subs to sub offerings from B&W, Paradigm, Def Tech, Polk etc?
As for price of finishes, that's their choice as a company. I don't really understand your personal vendetta against Axiom. You seem to have nothing better to do besides troll them as a company. I've seen your posts for a while now and I've got to wonder about your perspective - You're inclined to equate "not as good" with "awful".
