I can't speak for the manufacturers, but I think the general premise is that there's no middle-man markup involved in direct sales. Also, in the case of the guys I mentioned, there's no overhead; they build as they get the orders. The down side is you have to wait while your speaker is built. Don't know about Rick Craig, but Jim Salk has a waiting list, and I believe it takes about 90 days from the time you order to the speakers' arrival.
Best bass response in a $1500 pair monitor?
After much research,and much help from audiogon members, I'm leaning toward Audio Refinement Complete amp. Have already bought Rotel 1072CD, although I may have jumped the gun-- perhaps AR CD would've been better choice, but... am looking for suggestions for a monitor speaker to match. Have $1500 to spend. Am willing to add sub later if necessary, but: are there monitors that are more satisfying than others in mid-bass? Ideally, I'd prefer to start my listening enjoyment now, without constantly being reminded of the missing low-bass. Suggestions????