Pretty much the same as everyone else, price/performance, service.
Axiom does design and build their own high quality drivers and has done so for a long time.
As to specs, Axiom has their own anechoic chamber and is quite obsessed with producing a speaker with a flat frequency response so you hear exactly what is in the recording.
Though I lost my perma-grin after about a year of listening to my system, I absolutely love the sound of my system every single time I turn it on.
The surrounds are absolutely amazing. I had a speaker support malfunction (don't worry, nothing was exposed) and have had one surround sitting on the arm of my couch. from the main seating positions, you can't tell that it is not mounted in its usual spot.
Hmm, I guess I should really re-mount that speaker...
