Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Product line Breadth (was: Why did u order Axiom)

From the posts of various Axiom owners, the general consensus seems to be that they bought Axiom speakers because...a) favorable reviews, b) testimonials of previous owners, c) 30 day return policy, and d) act of faith. Could I argue that Axiom has a tightly focussed line, and makes choosing more consumer friendly, both in selection and web page navigation?

There's a new book out there called the "Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less" by Barry Schwartz, go to Chapters or B&N and read it for free. I think a lot of it is appropriate to the audiophile business. The author argues that having so much choice in the marketplace complicates the consumer's decision process.

There's probably over a thousand speaker models on the market. Some companies even market several dozen speakers. With so much choice, it brings out certain buying behaviors.

There are 2 kinds of buyers, Maximizers and Satisficers.

Maximizers put considerable energy and effort into the hunt, looking for the "best", whether by price, style, quality, etc. They'll search the ends of the earth to see if they really did make a good choice. They are not likely to be happy with their choice, because something better could be available.

Satisficers look for something that's good enough, and then stop looking when they find it. They're usually happier with their purchase than Maximizers. Standards can be just as high as those of maximizers. Many Axiom purchasers who responded to the previous thread appear to be in this category.

The book suggests that Maximizing is bad, because it ties up time resources that could be better used for other things. The remedy would be to go from being a Picker to being a Chooser.
Pickers are so overwhelmed with choice, they make selections based on what's available, whether it meets their criteria or not. Choosers have a list of features they desire, and will stop searching as soon as they come across a product that fills those requirements; if no product meets their criteria, no selection is made. (not so easy for loudspeakers, I know, b/c the best source of measurements, frequency response and averaged listening window curves, aren't readily available)

I believe that most audiophiles interested in the high end are maximizers; I bought something in 1995, and I've continued to look for better speakers for the last 9 years, even though I only listen to them for maybe 5 hours a month.

One of things that draws me towards Axiom is their relatively small selection of speakers (though I wish Axiom had a line of flat wallmount speakers to complement flatpanel TVs). Visit other companies like B&W, Infinity, Energy, or Paradigm, and tell me which company you'd rather deal with? Zillions of navigation links; hunting for product line comparison charts; costs of manufacturing and marketing all of those models...I'm sure it's a smart business decision to keep the product line lean. Agree? Disagree?

interesting post.. i still cant tell if you are considering getting some axioms or not..?

i think i am a little of both of those types,Maximizers and Satisficers. i was careful to research and find the best speaker that fit my price range. bang for buck, as most call it. and, going on blind faith, i still quest to hear other brands and models to see if my axioms really are as good as i think they are. but i dont listen to others in the search to replace my axioms, just to see expand my own parameters as a person who can fairly judge the differences between audio equip. i have NO reservations about buying axioms, and i am completely satisfied with my HT(except for sub, but thats another thread)..

and i also am a chooser.. when i was searchinf for a receiver, i made a list of what i wanted it to do, and the features i wanted it to have. i set a price limit, and started looking.. when i came acroos my onkyo 701, it fit the bill, and was even cheaper than what i expected to spend.. so, i bought it, and havent looked back. i may be interested in adding some more watts in the future(who isnt?), but for now, i am totally happy.

and i think the small selection of axioms are a good thing.. when you look at paradigms, they have several levels of speakers, good, better, and best.. with axioms, they have one line, and its the best. they dont appear to cut corners on any of their speakers. they are ALL of the highest quality, and meet very strict standards.

depending on what kind of buyer YOU are, i think you will be very pleased and impressed with any axiom speaker that you decide to get. they are of the best quality, with a reasonable price. now, if that dont sell you, then i dont know what will!!

bigjohn

Re:
Could I argue that Axiom has a tightly focussed line, and makes choosing more consumer friendly, both in selection and web page navigation?

You sure could. Appearence matters. If you are interested in this, I suggest you may want to read one of the seminal works in this field, Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock". He coined the term "overchoice" to describe exactly what you are talking about. And it does turn people away. Speaking just for myself, every time I have tried to browse Paradigm's web site, I get frustrated and confused, and eventually just go away.

Does Paradigm make good speakers? I'm sure they do, and I'm sure I could make sense of it if I tried hard enough. Am I going to do that?

No.

Ham,

I'd have to agree with your observation...many of us become verklempt with too many options

Great Post! I would consider me to be a maximizer and a chooser. My criteria when purchasing the Axioms were 1.) Price range and quality 2.) Qualified reviews 3.) Appearance
I don't believe anyone should have the mentality that more is better, in other words more money.
I didn't base my choice on the marketing piece; it's not important to me. I wanted bang for the buck and the reviews that I read everywhere (professional reviews) gave me total reassurance that I was making the right decision.

My decision ate up 3 months of my time, however I feel it was justifiable and needed for me to be happy with my decision.

If Axiom had more product offerings, it might have confused me. I still would have researched it thoroughly though

Tom