Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater EP600 Subwoofer settings recommendations

Hi!

I joined the Axiom fraternity yesterday when I received my slightly modified 5.1 system. I got four M80ti speakers, one VP150 center speaker, and one EP600 subwoofer. They are being powered by a Denon 3805 AV receiver.

I know it has been only 24 hours, but the speakers do sound very good right out of the box. The Denon 3805 has no problems driving the four 4-ohm M80ti's and the 6-ohm VP150. Jean-Claude at Axiom had assured me over the phone that the Denon is powerful enough to handle the 4-ohm speakers even though their manual refers only to 6 and 8-ohm speakers.

I have read some of the recent postings about the EP600. I was wondering if members here have recommendations about the subwoofer settings to get deep bass without shaking the foundations of the house! I know a certain amount of experimentation will be needed before I get perfect bass.

Thanks!

P.S. When I move into my basement HT next year, I will get a pair of QS8's to have a 7.1 channel audio system. Also on the wish list - the Earthquake Cinénova Grande Seven-Channel Amplifier (300wpc x 7).

I have the 2805 and near the front of the manual it states not to drive speakers with below 4ohm, I'm sure the 3805 would be the same...

As far as the 600, the manual that comes with it gives you a good starting point. I have a huge room, and after calibration with an SPL meter, so far I have the following settings:

crossover knob: set to bypass as my receiver is managing the crossover of 80hz, all speakers set to small.

volume (gain): about the 8 o'clock position, the manual states to start about midway of 9 o'clock.

trim: set to flat as stated for a larger room.

phase: currently set to 0, you may have to experiment.

On my receiver I have the crossover set to 80hz and the dB level of the sub channel is on about -2dB. Have you calibrated with an SPL meter?

Welcome by the way and that is one bad system dude...

Randy

Randy:

Thanks for the advice. I have the EP600 at almost the same settings as you. I used a Denon microphone with the Denon 3805's built-in EQ program. It set the sub at -4.5dB. Looks like I am on the right path!

Richie

P.S. How do I list the Axiom goodies under my signature?

Click on "My Home" at the top of the forum, scroll down and click "edit" for your preferences, and update your signature. You are limited to so many characters though..

One thing you might try...I also use the microphone for my initial setup, and it did a pretty good job. I then bought an SPL meter from Radio Shack and re checked everything using the receivers Test Tone feature. I did make some adjustments, but it was pretty close. I did recheck the delay (distance) settings of the autosetup and found it had my sub a little off, so I manually adjusted that in the speaker setup menu.

As far as the room Eq, which is turned off by default, I tried it on at first but found it made my M60's have to much midrange, so I've left it off ever since.

welcome to our community... Randy

Randy I know you have your CC at about 76/77 but what is your sub at? Mine is around 80. i thought 75 was not enough bang.

You should not be using the crossover on your sub if you are using the crossover in the receiver speaker setup menu. I have my Denon 2805 crossover at 80hz, and the sub crossover set to bypass. You don't want them conflicting with eachother...

Randy

Let me repharse myself. What is your reading on your spl meter?

gotcha, when you said CC, I thought we were talking about Crossover, my mistake....

I'm with you, I first tried having my volume on the sub around 7 o'clock and the receiver was at about -2dB's, this was with and SPL of about 75/76 dBs. I have read where others like the sub a little hotter, so I have been experimenting. I think I have my receiver still on -2dB's, and have raised the sub volume to achieve about 80dB's like you have mentioned, which I believe is about 8 o'clock on the sub. I would have to recheck to make sure.

The other night a friend of mine brought over a DVD that had a bunch of DTS and Dolby sound demo's. There was one DTS track that blew both of our minds. There was also a Dolby track that when you closed your eyes, you felt like you were in an aquirium with bubbles popping all around you, it was amazing.

I love my 7.1 setup with my 4 Qs8's...

Thanks Randy

One other thing I have forgot to mention is that I like to bump up my center channel at least 2 dB's higher than my M60's. If I use the meter and calibrate using 75dB's or if I use the built in microphone option, it always places my center channel a few dB's below my mains. During movies it is hard to hear the dialog at lower levels. If I crank it up then the other speakers blow you out of the room. I think others have mentioned they like to bump up the center as well.

I bumped it up yesturday to 76 and i thought it was better than 75. When I come back from Vegas I will try 77.

Say hi to Jenna Jamison for me.

Can you list you dvd library. lol

Thanks to all for the posts on this thread. That EP600 subwoofer is a monster! I have to be careful with the settings, otherwise the whole house starts shaking! :-)

Richie how are you liking the four M80Ti's?

I was going to use my 60s for the rears in a 7.1 system whenever I move it to another dedicated location in the house (hopefully soon!) but have decided to go with another pair of QS8's simply due to ease of placement and room.

I'm assuming this would be for music listening? Seems it would be overkill for surround applications.

Rick:

I love the 4 M80ti speakers in my 5.1 system. I use it mostly for listening to music. I have a small selection of SACDs and DVD-Audio disks. The 4 M80ti's and the VP150 are perfectly matched. The Denon 3805 does a very good job of converting regular 2-channel stereo CDs into 5.1 channel audio. So again, the five speakers form a beautiful sound machine! The EP600 is icing on the cake! :-)

For movies with Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 sound tracks, the rear M80ti's are overkill. But I compared the cost of two QS8's ($500) plus FMS QS stands ($270), and decided to fork over a small additional amount and get two M80ti's ($1240) instead. I don't have the space right now, but eventually I might get the two QS8's and convert my 5.1 system into a complete 7.1 system. The Denon 3805 I have is a 7.1 channel amplifier. I am going to bi-amp the front two M80ti's. Then I will be using all seven channels on the Denon 3805.

The instructions for bi-amping speakers with the Denon 3805 can be found on this page:

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/Denon-AVR3805_review04.php

The front two M80ti's will get 240 wpc. But since they are 4-ohm speakers, I guess it will effectively be 480 wpc! The M80ti's are rated for 400 watts, but Jean-Claude (?) at Axiom told me they can easily handle 1000 watts.

I have had the speakers for only two days now. But I am very happy with the sound quality (and the price!). Before I bought the Axioms, I listened to a variety of speakers made by Polk, Martin Logan, B&W, Monitor and Paradigm. I almost bought the Martin Logan Aeon i speakers. I am glad I ended up with the Axiom speakers. I still find it hard to believe that comparable speakers cost 2 to 3 times more than the AXIOMS!

In reply to:

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The front two M80ti's will get 240 wpc. But since they are 4-ohm speakers, I guess it will effectively be 480 wpc! The M80ti's are rated for 400 watts, but Jean-Claude (?) at Axiom told me they can easily handle 1000 watts.

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Biamping the M80s as you describe will not give you 240 per channel. It will still be the rated spec for what ever the Denon will do at 4 ohm. Lets say you see a 50% increase in power (typically) with the Denon @ 4 ohm, that would give around 180 per channel. Biamping does not double the power to the speaker. Each section of the M80 will still be getting the same rated power as if you left the binding post straps in place.

Rick:

Thanks for the correction! I am new to bi-amping!

The front M80ti's are now bi-amped. I am not sure there is any discernible difference in sound quality. I will have to play a few more CDs.