Awesome
I'm really happy to see some honest-to-goodness clarification! I also feel that I did the right thing by asking, because I'm pretty sure I couldn't have been the only person who has been confused by the recent turn of events and negative backlash against Axiom.
Personally, I still think the level of backlash that I've seen is larger and more harsh than what is deserved. Let me be clear, I'm not talking about Gene with that statement. From all the posts that Gene has made himself, he has at least tried to stick to actual technical and engineering arguments and pointed out disagreements that he has with the designers and engineers over at Axiom. I'm very ok with that sort of discussion.
But there are forum members at various forums who have really become nasty with the anti-Axiom sentiment. That is the stuff I have a problem with because it completely flies in the face of a great many, very reputable sources that state opinions that are quite to the contrary.
I've said this in other posts, but I get a strong sense of there being a "hipster" attitude amongst AV forum regulars. As soon as a product or brand becomes "mainstream" it seems to lose favor, while smaller, unknown brands get hyped up as the "next big thing". I don't subscribe or agree with that attitude and I think it is damaging to the AV industry in general, but especially to people who are new to the AV hobby and are trying to find their bearings and get an idea of what brands and products they should be considering for purchase.
Axiom was easily one of the "go to" recommendations on forums for a long, long time. And I think I can safely say that Audioholics' own reviews were often cited as a means of supporting the case for that recommendation. It just seems so incredibly odd to me, even still after Gene's explanation, that what used to be considered very good speakers at very good prices are now considered to have "fallen behind". I still can't quite wrap my head around that when, in all fairness, human hearing has NOT changed and a good speaker from 7 years ago can still be very much a good speaker today. I don't think the fact that other companies have improved over the years and are now offering a higher level of performance for similar, or perhaps even lower prices than Axiom should lead to the conclusion that Axiom speakers are no longer good. Perhaps they no longer hold the same position of value in that there is greater competition now than there was several years ago. But the actual level of performance has not fallen, so I still feel that the level of backlash is undeserved.
There seems to be a certain amount of glee expressed at the notion of "taking down" a company. I'm as guilty as anyone of this when it comes to brands like Bose and Monster Cable. I just honestly found it startling with Axiom though because Bose and Monster have never been praised for performance or value by professional reviewers. For Axiom to get lumped in with them, that really does not seem right to me at all!
Perhaps one of the best examples though is SVSound. SVS was another internet-direct brand that got incredible hype when they hit the scene. There were people of forums making outlandish claims about how good SVS subwoofers were. Then SVS started to grow and started to move manufacturing to China and the shine came off.
Today, in my own personal experience, SVSound is making the best subwoofers they have EVER made. And yet, they get nowhere near the same level of love that they had when they were new on the scene. Now, it's all about Seaton and JTR, and I really get a sense that it's because those brands are still "underground" and really not well-known by the larger, mainstream market. It's that "hipster" attitude that I mentioned, where despite SVSound making some truly excellent subwoofers, the fact that they are no longer the cheapest and the fact that they manufacture in China now seems to get them lumped in with the "you're not hip if you like 'em" brands, and I think that is a disservice to the industry and to new AV hobbyists who are looking for recommendations.
Similar things could be said about HSU. In no small part due to Paul's review of the VTF-15H, HSU's reputation on the forums went from sterling to junk. I think that's a total overreaction - similar to what's happened to Axiom. And HSU also gets some of the blame due to how one of their representatives responded on those same forums. So it's just bad overreactions all around!
Hopefully, things will eventually settle down and people will find their heads. Right now, things are heated, people are picking sides, and once they dig in their heels, it becomes a "black and white" argument and that just doesn't get anybody anywhere. But what I REALLY want to get across - to Gene in particular - is that the thinly-veiled jabs (such as some of the questions in these interviews and the proposed title of the upcoming article) are possibly more damaging than just outright, easy-to-understand statements. And damaging to BOTH sides at that. Putting these sorts of doubts out there, as opposed to just a plainly spoken stance and argument, only serves to create feelings of negativity. The anit-Axiom people who are already overreacting take those questions and wordings that are purposefully crafted to create doubt and amplify them into truly negative and unfair aspersions about Axiom as a whole. I see that happening already. New members who ask about Axiom are told things like "you shouldn't trust a company that uses 'terrible' engineering such as dual tweeters, and doesn't put enough bracing in their cabinets". They take one little nugget about iron-core inductors and turn it into a reason to avoid Axiom entirely. That's an overreaction, but when experts such as Gene do not come right out and say exactly what they mean, it makes it far too easy for these sorts of exaggerations to take place because the people who attempt to counter those exaggerated arguments aren't able to point to a clearly-worded article by Gene to say, "here's the REAL information."
I just don't like to see people or companies get undermined when they do not deserve it. The veiled jabs and subtle condescension also serves to undermine Gene and Audioholics - and that's something I really want Gene to be aware of. The positive reviews of Axiom products that can be found on Audioholics - they are not subtle. They do not, in ANY way, make it sound as though Audioholics holds reservations about the performance, build quality or value of Axiom's products. To now come out and say that people ought to doubt the quality of Axiom's products, that's a contradiction. But an outright, plainly-spoken contradiction could at least be explained as a change in attitude that has occurred over time. That new information and advancements by other companies has changed the landscape. I can understand that sort of reasoning. It's the veiled jabs that hurt Audioholics. Saying things without saying them plainly - that undermines Audioholics. It simply casts doubt. And that doubt will extend to backlash towards Audioholics. You'll wind up with increased talk about how Audioholics only gave those positive reviews because of advertising. And if all that is accomplished is the casting of doubt, how is that going to help build any sort of trust in the Audioholics system of evaluation and recommendation.
Basically, don't cut off your nose to spite your face! Disagreements are normal. Changing opinions over time is normal. If you just come right out and say it, without hype or emotion, and without condescension or derision, people will get it, and you won't have to undermine your opponent OR yourself. In other words, just be fair! Keep it all above board; keep it all professional. There is more than enough juvenile behavior and overreaction on the forums. We NEED for people like Gene to always be the "better man", and to simply keep things honest, clear, and free from half-truths and exaggeration that don't help either side.
