Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater The dreaded thing in the bottom right corner...

Maybe I'll just do the gloss myself?

DIY may be one route to go. I'd like high gloss on mine as well, but double the price of the speakers is insane. It kinda kills the value aspect that Axiom is known for.

Just my opinion from experience, unless you have the equipment and some expieriance applying a HG finish, I would not consider a DIY. If one does decdie to do it, I would recommend making a lot of test samples before applying it to a set of speakers.
Also if you check the pricing for the HG finish, its $350 for any size of Axiom product, and there is a flat $1k per system. I believe if you check any speaker company that offers a HG finish, its not a low price option. The process is very labor intensive and adds to the cost significantly.

I still want to see A hybrid EP 600 with the drivers from the M80's stuck in it, completely self powered. I would rob someone to buy a pair of something like that.

Hmmm. You might be on to something. If Axiom developed a line of active speakers -- actively crossed over with a separate amp for each driver section -- that would definitely generate some interest. Of course, then you have to replace all your speaker cables with coax.

However, out of the models I have seen such as the Rockets (with a separate speaker binding for the drivers), setup can get very complicated with 2 subs, 2 crossovers, 2 sub levels, 2 phase controls...

Since amplifiers are built-in to active speakers, you only need to send them a line-level mono signal. That only requires a single cable.

Yea, looking at the AV123 Rocket's (their highest model line) I read the configuration to get everything working...the configuration setup, tuning, and possibilities are dizzying.

I'm actually one of those guys who did turn away from Axiom due to the last price increase. After listening to the M80 and at around $1100 the M80 was a great buy, but at $1240 shipped it was only $320 less than the Monitor Audio Silver s10. The silver was $2000, but the discount the dealer offered made it $1560 delivered and well worth the extra $320. The last price increase was around April last year and if the price didn't get so close he the delivered price of the MA I probably would have gone Axiom. Don't get me wrong I like Axioms and even have a pair of QS8, but at the new price of $1300 for a pair of m80 they won't be the bargain the used to be and there are a lot of speakers in the $1500 range that will be $1300 out the door with real wood veneer cabinets. I understand Axiom has to make money,and nothing last forever, but two price increases in less than a year? That will mean that the m80 has increased something like 19% in less than a year.

It is not really that difficult........................... just takes some time and patience, really. I'm far from an expert and I managed to get things working.