Ok here is this wheel thread's oddsandendos.com pitch.

The Easton Ascten and Orion wheels use Velocity Aerohead front and Aerohead OC rear rims. For less than half the MSRP Mike Garcia will build you a wheel that is only 57g heavier than the spec of the Orion II with the same spoke count (Easton buys a custom 18 hole drilling for the Ascent that Mike doesn't have so he can't build that equivilant). Mike's wheels will not only cost less but your warranty wont be void if you have your LBS true them (this is Easton's policy which I found out the hard way) and if for some reason you brake a spoke Mike's wheels use a more traditional spoke while will be easier to find at your LBS (oh and BTW he gives one spare of each type used in the wheel build just in case). So the real differece is the hub and the bling factor. Can't do anything about the bling but so far (I do nly have about 500 miles on mine now) the SpeedCific hubs seem good.

Sorry had to do it.