If they are only using $6 binding posts (probably have ferrous materials, which would go a long way to explain why the Cardas sounded better), I would be very dubious as the the quality of the crossover components used.
After all, those a much less visible So if they are going to skimp anywhere, using inferior caps, coils and resistors is very likely.
And talk about an area in the execution of building speakers that can make a big difference!
A friend and I used to have a cottage business upgrading speakers. When we came across a speaker that had good engineering, but budget execution, just swapping caps and coils made a pretty obvious improvement.