The draw weight is not the only factor to get speed. The power stroke has alot to do w/ it. This is how far the string goes back when cocked to put it simply. A little known fact is that all current production Excals use the same limbs. You can, IOW, switch the limbs on a 285 fps Vixen w/ the limbs on an E'max and both will still shoot what ever they were shooting before. Excal models get their rated speeds by differences in rail length and angled limbs. A big factor in my book is trigger pulls. Since the trigger system has to handle en extreme amount of pressure, it's expensive to make them both strong enough and still low enough for accurate shooting. Not to sound like an Excal salesperson, but all of their models have the same [real nice] triggers. There's a foolowing on here for virually every brand made, lot's of "brand loyalty" and it's best if you can get someplace to check out a prospective purchase "hands on" Welcome to the land of the permanently disorientated!! Edit: Hi DJH!! I see we were both at it at the same time, and you got there firstest w/ mostest. lol