Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater EP400s : The Little Subwoofer That Could

Great review, John! It sounds like Axiom has a fine little sub in the EP400. In a smaller room I imagine it would do just fine for most HT applications. Sometimes, though, there just isn't any way around a large driver and enclosure for that visceral impact most of us crave with our movies.

Actually it makes want to compare the 500, 400 and 350, as those are the ones I could actually stuff into my room.I can't wait to hear the HSU as well.

John,

Flipping the phase switch doesn't help with the slap/punch. And I'm dialed in so that at the cross-over frequency, I have the exact same SPL out of my 80s as out of the 600.

Transparency is hard to explain but it's like the effortless lows coming out of a pipe organ. I have been wondering the last few months if it is possible to have transparency AND faster attack/decay/tighter punch all from the same sub.

My 600 hits me in the gut and below but never in the chest and head if you know what I mean. Does the 400 hit you in both places?

Thanks St. Pat. Great summary comments you make there. A single EP400 would provide surprisingly responsive bass in a small room but sometimes a film just demands more headroom which is why I would recommend the 400 as a pair for most rooms, or ideally as Ian says as quads to deal with room acoustical issues in larger rooms.

Also if you are thinking of a small sub for music only applications the 400 is the one to get.

Mojo the 400 does not hit at all like the 600. To get what you are asking you need dual 500s or 600s. Also flipping the phase switch and its effectiveness on the speakers will depend vvery much on where the sub is placed relative to the speakers.

I suspect going the acoustical treatment and bass trap route will help give you the kind of transparency you are looking for. Treating my HT with wall panels and bass traps made a bigger difference in improving sound quality, than any component I have ever purchased.

Jake my comments would apply to the 500 as well. The only difference between the 500 and 600 is 3hz more extension and 3db more output in the 600 otherwise the sonic character of those models are identical. You can safely interchange 500 and 600 for purpose of comparing either of those 2 subs with the 400.

Although a bit expensive, a pair of EP400s in a two channel set-up would probably be spectacular. In a previous system of mine I went from one sealed sub to two and was delighted by the expansive soundstage.

Good stuff, John. I've been eagerly looking forward to someone putting the 400 through it's paces and posting impressions. Thanks so much for doing it.

Jack, I find doing these side by side comparisons a lot of fun (and work) and always come away learning what the subs or speakers are capable of. Given how quickly we humans adapt to our environments it can take a long time to key in on a single subs sonic qualities compared to the side by side testing. I still have some more testing and listening to do with the 400.

St. Pat, you'd have to hear for yourself just what a awesome difference stereo 400s make to soundstage and imaging. I have now tried them with 3 different sets of speakers and I was wowed by the 400s with all three sets. The fact they are so small makes setting them up for 2 channel listening a relative breeze. While they are being proposed primarily as a multi-sub HT solution, I'm just so impressed how they perform in stereo.

Over the next few days I'm going to test the 600 and 400 pair in various locations to see how effectively they tame the nodes. I'll take shots of the SMS display for comparison.

John,

Awesome review on the single EP400...this thread is a keeper for sure! It should be stickied at the top of this board while the EP400 is still a new product to give new comers a good understanding of it.

I very much look forward to the follow up running dual EP400s. Having that DSP technology with the limiter in the EP400 is a VERY wise choice, especially with those wanting to use it for HT applications...and accidentally run it too hot.

Regarding the Ultra 13, was it in a pretty large room? That thing has a 725 watt amp, that's pretttty suprising that they blew that amp...wow!