Just because a product is manufactured in China, does not necessarily mean that the product is, well…junk.
Nobody here has suggested that. I was aware (and impressed) that Axiom owned its facility in China before I bought my system. I was also aware that Axiom designed its own drivers rather than OEMing them from someone else.
I remember when people had this same sort of conversation about goods manufactured in Taiwan. I still own a no-name table saw who's fit and finish is every bit as good as the 'North American' brands sold for twice the price at the time. Ian clearly figured out the value of manufacturing in China some time ago, and has taken the important step of maintaining control of the process.
In the end it is about a quality product for the right price. There seems to be a lot more competition in the subwoofer market all the way from DIY to manufactured to OEMed (Outlaw) than there is in the speaker market.
AV123's MFW 15 is an example of what happens in this type of market. The MFW15 is a good design missing the type of quality control Axiom works very hard to maintain. It was damn near a killer product... with absolutely no margins. Margins for some of the best DIY drivers out there are also very thin. Kevin Haskins of Exodos has written as much on one of the forums.
After all that rambling, I had a hard time deciding on a sub, but ended up going for the EP350. It may not be the same 'steal of a deal' that the M80s are, but its still a very competent sub. I got my money's worth.
