I dunno, but, from what I have seen in recent years, a number of well-known and sometimes so-called "high-end" speaker companies have made numerous aesthetic changes in their lines without any actual audible improvements to the sound. I have a friend who has been in the A/V retail business for over twenty years and he has managed a store for much of that time that has carried the complete Paradigm line from almost their inception. Surprisingly enough, the consensus of opinion amongst all the employees in the store is that the older lines sounded better, so who knows?
There is also the issue of where many companies are doing their manufacturing now. Even B&W, other than their "top-of-the-line" 800 series, all their other models are now being built in China, however, despite that, I don't see a reduction in their prices.
I believe the business model Axiom is using is the right one in that you do tweaks from time to time in a "tried and true" product and periodically bring out something new, like the VP180, that turns the A/V world upside down. I am not sure what the point is in producing a product that has "perceived" better internal parts and more elaborate cabinetry so you can justify doubling the price by saying that it is going to sound audibly better. This is especially the case with Axiom, when it comes to choices in finishes, no one else in the industry even comes close.
Anyway, we know where the product is built and the time and effort put in to it, otherwise Axiom wouldn't be celebrating their thirtieth anniversary this year.
