Originally Posted By: dakkon
JBall, i understand where you are coming from..

However, everyone that works for axiom and is on the board, as well as Brent and JC on the phone, have been very honest with me.. Also, you hear copious amounts of stories, of Brent and JC telling people that they don't need something, that a less expensive product would work perfectly well in their environment... I dont know of many other companies downselling products...? My point being, if i may go out on a limb, Ians philosophy seems to be,( be completely honest with every and all customer,and offer a product at a good value.)


On your quality concern.. If Andrew said they did tests in the anabolic chamber, then i take him at his word.. Heck, i bought a pair yesterday before any results from the show were out... Also, JBall i dont know how familiar you are with the physics of metals, but if you use a heavy gauge steel, and introduce bends into that steel.. That pieces of "stamped" steel can be EVERY bit as strong as cast steel, if the design is a good.... Also, cast steel isn't the holy grail, using forged steel and then machining is the absolute best way to go, due to the atomic lattice work being consistant throughout the of the piece of metal (if you want more info on this google it).... Cast just adds mass, which would lower the resonant frequency but that is about it, but remember the stamped piece can be as stiff as the cast piece, for less money due to less metal being used to achieve the same result...


Also, if Axiom wanted to, they could have included the cast+realwood finish to include rosewood standard... However, then we would be talking about a 5,500$ or so speaker for options that some people just may not care about.. When i ordered mine, i asked JC to leave the finish blank, as well as the grill cloth as i really dont know what i want to do there (and i have several months to decide smile )... i may go with the standard black oak finish, but the option is open for me to decide what finish i want depending on how much i spend...


On a completely different side note.. JBall, you bring up premium speakers, and the quality of their drivers as compared to the drivers that Axoim uses. I have a pair of B&W CM1's, and a CM center.. at about 1,000$ a pair for the CM1's and about 700$ for the center... My axioms sound every bit as good as the B&W's for a fraction of the cost.... do the B&W's use cast drivers... I don't know, probably. But to me they aren't Way Way better... or i would have bought a pair of 802D's, or a pair of 800D's if i could find a good catch on Audigon.. Right now a pair of 802D's go for about 8k$ on audiogon... For 8k$ at axiom you could easily buy the new stereo speakers+ a pair of ep 600's or 800's and have a system that would BLOW away the 802's as well as the 800's.. oh, and that is comparing used B&W prices to new Axiom prices, if you compair new-new... then there really isn't any comparison...


With all that being said JBall, you bring up valid points. and i dont want you to take any of my comments personal, i am just presenting a different perspective.


Thanks Dakkon for a thoughtful post. If what you are saying is true about stamped steel vs cast, then why is virtually EVERY good quality subwoofer drive constructed of cast instead of thick stamped steel? Also cast is non magnetic so it seems to me its more efficient so its not wasting magnet strength.

Again $120 difference in cost to upgrade to the better drivers IMO should be standard at this price point. That cost is likely 1/2 to Axiom and there seems to be a good margin already in this product as is.

Calling Cast baskets "audio jewelery" again seems very insulting to competitors that clearly see them as an advantage in their designs, else they wouldn't use them.

This link shows some of the advantages of die-cast vs stamped process, one being, tighter tolerances, another being easier to forge complex shapes and durability and ability to draw away heat more effectively.

http://www.diecasting.org/faq/

Last edited by JBall; 03/18/12 05:15 PM.