Most of my friends haven't spent anywhere near what I have on my M80s let alone the rest of the system, they think I am crazy too.

I'm surrounded by Bose enthousists.

The B&W's that i have are made in China. However, by looking at them you would never imagine they were made in China, the fit and finish are astounding. I think a lot of it is the quality controls that companies impose on their Chinese manufacturing partners. To a certain degree any product that is produced with tight QC controls will be more expensive. With that being said, i am not defending B&W's margin, i am sure that there is a decent amount of "snobbery" built into their bottom line.


Wilsons, are made in the USA. They use focal drivers, that are sourced and then taken apart and re-built at the facility in Utah. If you read about the history of the company and man behind Wilson it is quite interesting.

I am also of the opinion that Axiom is a VERY good value for what you buy. Also like almost everyone else Axiom has taken care of me. To the point that Casey makes, with the globalization of business today, almost every company today sources parts from China, or other parts of the globe with low wage rates. One of the few things that can set a company apart today is their customer service and that is a pretty big part of my buying decision.

Yes, Mark, once again you offer the definitive solution, and no one heeds your call.

I think the regs here simply feel freer to bash a "visiting" dork, that to do it to each other.

+1

Yup

A buddy of mine with more money than sense has a dedicated listening room for his two channel rig. Only one seat, just for him. He likes Scotch and cigars too, so he just sits there with his Scotch and cigar smoke listening to tunes. He recently moved from a set of Wilsons to a set of B&W's. I don't know the model numbers of each, but the Wilson's were ridiculously large, as well as ridiculous in appearance. They looked like that robot on lost in space back in the 70's. The B&W's look like a big assed giant eardrum in piano black. His electronics are a mix of things I do not recall but I know MacIntosh and Mark Levinson are in the mix, along with cables supported on little tri-pods that glow in the dark.

I was not all that impressed with either. Don't get me wrong, his set up sounds quite spectacular, but hell, I think mine does too! I just couldn't understand what the big deal was and why anyone in their right mind would spend that kind of money on a stereo system. Visions of a 430 Scuderia kept running through my head.

But that's what trips his trigger, and he's got the money, so I'm happy for him. I still give him crap about it whenever I can, but I don't think him a fool either, he just has different priorities than I do. He gives me crap about spending the money I do on wine....

I'll keep my Axioms and drive a Scud, other than spending that kind of money on high end audio gear any day......well, if I actually HAD that kind of money to blow that is.

I have always liked the idea of Bamboo Ply for enclosures in the higher end designs. We are starting to see some speakers made out of this material now as a substitute for MDF.

The former begets deterioration of the latter.

I think Brian has made the definitive statement here; all-inclusive, yet succinct. Can't imagine many of us feeling differently. Go, Cat!

That's what all poor people say.