Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners ep500 owners

Hi, i would like to ask the owners of the ep500 to please give me your subjective or objective comparisons of the ep500 vs. another subwoofer that you either own, or were part of your choices.

I already know you guys would say the ep500 is great, but I need a scale for how great the ep500 is ... and I'm hoping your other subs are familiar to me.

my other choices are Velodyne CHT/DLS 15"-R and Yamaha YST-SW1500 (12" 1000watts with servo)

thanks in advance

Have you seen this thread at AVS Forums? This was a blind listening test between the SVS Ultra and EP500. There's a lot of background noise, but some good stuff nevertheless. Craigsub conducted this test, and did a great job.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=600563&page=5

yup i sure did! i already talked to craig in pm's ... craig's comparisons are the dd-18 and the ultra (both of which I have no idea as to their performance [but would also want to have])

apparently, ep500 owners are in hiding (and there is a shortage of reviews for the ep500)

Craigsub was helpful to me as well. He obviously has a lot of sub experience. I think he has a pair of these as well.

Good hunting!

There is some information available. Just a few weeks ago, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (CES) the EP500 won a Home Theater & Sound Product of the Year Award. Here is Home Theater & Sounds Review of the EP500.

Other Reviews include those by Audoreview.com, and Audioholics.com, who also awarded it a Product Of The Year Award.

I'm knocked out by my EP500. It has, by far, the smoothest, flattest frequency response I've ever experienced in a subwoofer. I'm amazed at how well it integrates with the rest of my system. I believe "seamless" is the correct term. I've owned JBL, HSU, and Rocket subs. All cost considerably less than the EP500, and all were competent performers, just not in the same league as the EP500.

I own a couple of 500s as well as two other subs. I doubt you can find a better sounding sub at his price.

Mike before buying my 500 I was going to get a Velodyne which are very nice subs also. My brother has a Velo and it sounds good. My 500 sounds great and I absolutely love it.

I would stay away from the Velodyne CHT models.
I've had 2 of them now and they were very boomy.

I had the EP350 for a year and was very happy with it, then I moved everything downstairs to a almost 900 sq ft. room, the EP500 does a wonderful job, and totally blowwwwws me away.

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I moved everything downstairs to a almost 900 sq ft. room

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That's M80 territory

Well actually it is now about 850 sq. ft. since my AV closet I put in took up some space. Once I get the bar, POOL TABLE, and theater stage with 2 row seating done, that will suck up a lot of that room .

Today, I was down stairs planning my bar/pool table area out, man I can't wait to get done.

thanks guys, please keep them coming ...

jack, thanks for the links ... but I've read those as well. I must say that for a product with its reputation, 3 reviews is called pretty rare.

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3 reviews is called pretty rare.

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The 500 is also a relatively new sub...at least in comparison to many others out there. And you're ALWAYS more likely to find reviews of subs from big companies that specialize in subs...i.e., you'll see reviews of HSU, SVS and Velodyne more often than REL, MartinLogan and, yes, Axiom. Doesn't mean the subs are better, it just means that they're bigger in the market.

The EP500 is a relatively new product. Offhand, I can't think of any subwoofer of similar age that has more reviews, or for that matter, as many glowing reviews. Also, it's just my opinion, but the number of reviews is considerably less important to me than how highly the product is regarded in the reviews, be it one, three, or 10 reviews.

i have to agree, even the martin logan subs have next to nothing in reviews (except the descent)

does anybody know of THD measurements done on the ep500?

FWIW, I had the EP500 and the UFW-12 in my house, and I ended up keeping the EP500. However, I can't say one was better than the other. They were different. I chose the EP500 based upon personal preference.

As far as THD measurements, I have seen THD measurements of the EP600. However, there has been some debate on how accurate those THD measurements are, and what threshold THD our ears can hear at low frequencies.

Axiom is doing a series of experiments on the audibility of all types of distortion.

How Much Distortion Can We Hear With Music? - An Axiom Experimental Study

thanks for all the comments guys

Couple of things extra you get with the EP500 is the axiom company customer service which is second to none. Free 2 day air shipping and an extremely mature and fair minded community board.

thanks again. for the record, i already ordered the ep500 even before I posted this thread, unfortunately it has to swim 8500 miles to get here (might be farther because 8500 miles is the shortest flight distance) -> instant 60 days waiting time i just hope it gets here safely.

so while waiting ... when is the software update coming out?

Congrats on your order, Let us all know how you like them once they arrive. I think you made a great choice.

My new favorite person Noreen just emailed me my tracking number. I’ll be able to give you an audio idiot’s opinion of perceptible differences between my Outlaw and the 500 in a couple days.

Just in time for the super bowl……Go Stealers!!

Always one of my favorite e-mails. Looking forward to your review.

i have 2 questions ...

1) how many of you guys use an sms-1 with your EP500's?
2) aside from craigsub, are there other guys who has owned a digital drive subwoofer too?

I use an SMS-1 with my EP500s. Jakeman and Tharkun have them as well, but with EP600s I believe. I think it is a great device.

I have never owned one of Velo's digital drive subs.

Dlewell is right as usual. The SMS can really help smooth bumpy FR at he seat.

thanks guys... you think the sms-1 is worth the price? (half of an EP500)

The SMS-1's value to you would be proportional to how much it improves your sub's frequency response. I'd wait to buy the SMS-1 until after you've had a chance to measure your sub's in-room response. You might be one of the lucky few who has a room that doesn't throw a sub's response out of whack.

When the new add on kit of 5 mics is available, I'll let you try them out first before I pick them up.

I'm wondering about this sms-1 stuff. I'm a relative noob so be gentle.