Originally Posted By: Adrian
As Andrew rightly points out, these are more than just speakers since there is some rather expensive electronics involved and the 'under $4K' price tag is certainly not unreasonable...(I don't know if real wood finish is standard or not). I do, in fact, understand where JBall is coming from, most higher end driver manufacturers do have diecast baskets vs stamped, which is less expensive to manufacture. Whether there's any difference sound-wise between a quality stamped basket vs die-cast, I couldn't say having not compared two similar products directly, but I would imagine a thin gauge basket would no doubt cause some problems. I've seen a few cast-plastic baskets on some drivers as well, not sure of the manufacturer however. Anyway, for Axiom to make a cast basket on a more limited series of speakers would definitely push the price up some and if it weren't reflected in a better quality sounding product, I doubt they would add that cost to the project.


To me, when you reach a certain price point in anything in life, you expect the best quality of parts used. For example, I pay a little extra for my drinking glasses and plates to have them made in USA and not risk eating off China lead paint. It's worth the extra cost for safety reasons even though the food will taste the same on both plates.

When I buy a car, I hate the cheap plastic materials inside so I usually look at alternative options with better build quality. Prime example, take a look at the inside of a Nissan or Infiniti car vs that of an Audi. While both competitors may be of similar driving experience and features, I spend a little more and get something that I feel is more solidly constructed.

Not trying to start a flame war here but come on guys, we are approaching $4k/pair for 2 speakers! I would certainly want the best parts used and also rounded cabinets too. But that's just me and I apologize for offending any die-hard Axiom fans that don't see that. As others said here, the free market will decide the success of this product.