Zak, I also am one EP500 owner who finds that the trim control is useful in other than the largest rooms. The subsonic filter on the newer version has no similar function and generally should be left off unless some subsonic problem(e.g., warped LPs)is present.
The calibration of the volume control was changed so that it didn't "open up" so quickly. Therefore a higher setting is necessary to allow the same voltage in to be amplified. This doesn't mean that the newer amplifier has less maximum power than the older one, just that a higher setting is needed to reach a given loudness level.
If your reference to "Yamaha" in your list of settings means that you used its auto-calibration, then the sub level should be the same as it was before if you had used the Yamaha before to set levels.
