Looks are a preference thing. Clearly some people do not like the Axiom cabinet. I frequent a lot of forums. The downside of being inured and having no life = lots of internet time. I think it looks good, I think their real wood work is freak'n gorgeous. I will also stand by and say that my oldest set from 2005 are still to this day brand new looking whereas both my SVS subs started pealing after 3 months! So no more SVS for me. Axiom makes a good cabinet.
But why not try a different style? Look at Paradigm, probably Axiom's biggest Canadian competitor, they have different series, some WAY over done, some very nice, some beyond pricey and some simple boxes. Yes I know, Paradigm is quite large. Point is their lineup covers a lot of tastes whereas you either like the Axiom cabinet....or you don't and since they are ALL the same, if you do not like em, you are heading to another brand.
Even simple improvements would help. Stop using the big screws on everything. (They must have one screw driver type in the entire company lol...very handy though) Every tweeter and woofer has screw heads sticking out of them. Make flush mounted screw heads. Make a screen that is flush or hidden on the cabinets and do not stick out so far. Sometimes the tiny details make a huge difference.
This great big center...I don't know what "I" would do with it. Cool looking, but personally, I have no use for it. I do have use for Bookshelves with 8" drivers, or a slimmer VP160, or a specialized sub/stand combo for an AxiomAir...or more money to buy things with.
