Axiom has done a very good job at keeping their pricing while others have had substantial increases.
That's actually a very good and valid point. Since I am happy with my SVS, I haven't paid any attention subwoofer prices for a good couple of years. But because of this thread, I poked around a bit. I was surprised to find that SVS's prices are now about on par with Axiom's. At the time, I went with SVS because their bang-for-the-buck quotient was better than Axiom's. Now, on 'paper' anyway, SVS has lost that advantage. It'd be a much harder decision today, EP500 vs SVS...
Interesting points on the Emo subs. But do keep in mind that these are ~$400 subs. SVS doesn't make subs at these prices (anymore), and equivalently-priced HSU subs have similarly 'mild' 20-25hz performance. Look at the STF-2 or the maybe the VTF-1. Or look at Axiom's EP-125. It's pretty much done by 30hz too.
I don't disagree that Emo's 12"-cone sub ought to do better, and there are better values out there. But for a <$500 sub, I think this is pretty much what you get.
