You guys know what I'm talking about.

Thoughts? Is axiom becoming more popular and thus increasing prices? I thought one of the biggest advantages of axiom was the incredible value for the money. I'm not saying that will go away, but will the price increased drive away a couple customers? Attract?

I'm also wondering why Axiom doesn't release a "supra" or whatever line that transcends their current line of speakers. I'm not saying they are inferior speakers, but there are plenty of people that arn't looking for "budget" speakers, but rather look among the ranks of the Onyx Refernce towers and other "best of the best" lines that companies offer. Not saying by any stretch that axiom speakers are at all "cheap" or "budget speakers" in terms of audio quality, but there are higher quality woofers, tweeters, and cabinet designs out there. But, all things considered, the price of this new "line" would have to be significantly higher to be able to put together components that greatly transcend the quality of the current axioms and makes that whole new line worthwhile to have.

Just thought I'd throw that in there as it goes along with the "pricing" theme of this post.

From Amie:
"Canadian prices will be up later in the day - it's mostly shipping cost increases, and metal costs which have risen dramatically. The Canadian price increase is slightly less though to take the dollar into account".

Two words: diminishing returns

How may items can you think of that the price remains the same and is not effected by increasing costs ?

I've always been grateful Axiom does not have a "superior" line. They're putting their best work forward in one line, with the only real differences (aside from the ones based on size) being in the finishes.

That's a great way to do it. As loyal customers, we're not stuck wondering if we got the best Axiom had to offer. We may want a larger speaker, but we always know the product we bought was their best in those dimensions.

That's a nice marketing distinction—and it's one reason there are so many happy Axiom customers.

Sometimes, choices ruin the shopping experience -- here's a nice article (full disclosure, which I edited and assigned) on that very topic:

• Choose, Choose, Choose: The Toxic Effects of Too Many Product Choices

From the article: "When consumers face a large selection of items, they have to process a large amount of information, which can cause problems. Research shows we worry about buying the wrong kind of milk. This concern about picking the wrong item may lead people to opt out of the whole arduous decision-making process by not buying anything at all. Or, when they do buy something, foregone options linger in memory, causing post-purchase regret."

Note you don't hear too much regret on the Axiom Website.

Austinbirdman

Those increases look very modest to me. Pretty much just keeps up with the normal rise in cost of living if that.

Four percent is very reasonable annual increase IMHO.

Ummm Dan, even Axiom has to increase prices from time to time. As materials/manufacturing costs increase each year, even Axiom has to pass that on to the customer. How would you expect them to stay in business if they never had mild price increases now and then, especially if their suppliers raise the cost to Axiom?

This is life in the real world.

Axioms will still be at great buy at the new price!

eek! I just used the custom shop to create some HG dark cherry M3s (they looked beautiful - great work on the web design stuff, guys), but they came in at $650USD!

Wow. The high gloss may not be worth it, eh?

I heard paradigm is raising their prices as well, so Axiom is not alone. I personally am not too worried about it, and I'm not going to rush my buying because of the price hike. It's not that much more on the M3's anyway.

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.

You must have been looking at the RS1000, and they are not that complicated, just a powered woofer added to an RS850. If you read the info, the RS1000 comes packaged with an R-DES unit, which is similar to the SMS-1. So with the R-DES, its simple to set up the amps.

Just so people that read this thread and not the other thread where I posted the date. The last price increase to the Axiom line was Nov 4, 2004 and not April of 2005.
Again, not trying to argue, but to be fair in comparing prices, your numbers will only hold true if MA does not have a price increase and if all MA dealers give a sizeable discount such as you received.

Agreed Dennis, not sure what increase he is talking about.

At times like this, I think that it is wise to ask yourself a fundamental question:

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME, THAT YOU CAN REMEMBER, THAT YOU GOT MORE THAN YOU PAID FOR????

I bet you can remember getting less than you paid for, but what about more?

I don't normally yell when I ask myself something, but that's just me.