You've made a fine choice with the EP600. I used to have a SVS Ultra and it was no contest in overall quality so I sold it last year, though in fairness to SVS it does cost less than the EP600. The better comparison is with the EP500 price wise and again the SVS sub did not compare well as borne out by listening tests. Craig was being very charitable in his SVS ranking in light of how the unanimous consensus at his place which Jack and I attended in late 2005 was the EP500 was the better sub.
The problem with nearly all the SVS subs is the characteristic mid-bass hump in frequency response which is a result of overrreaching with deep extension. The Axioms are just better sounding subs and with more overall output. The new Ultra design is supposed correct those shortcomings and be more linear. A more powerful amp will be a big improvement over the underpowered plate amps they typically use. It will be interesting to see how it performs when its released this fall.
The only real serious contender to the Axiom EP subs if you are looking for a vented HT sub is the HSU VTF-3 HO. Hsu has designed an excellent sub with loads of articulate output, that extends deeper than the EP subs though again is not as linear as Axiom's DSP subs but much better than the SVS subs.
On the question of ethical lapses, it has been discussed at length and we each make our own decisions. Personally, I regard SVS guerrilla marketing as indicative of a mindset that I don't care to associate with so I won't be buying any more of their products.
