Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Just got my Epic 80 7.1 and I'm underwhelmed

jwright350,
What BD player do you have? The two things you want to make sure are a) your BD doesn't have an LFE problem and b) your AVR doesn't have an LFE bug. I mention this because my Pioneer 84TX had nothing but LFE problems. It was pretty horrible actually.

The EP500 (I have one) is plenty powerful to shake most large rooms so I think you need to tinker with the LFE/low pass filter settings on your AVR. You can try the YPAO (I think that's what it's called?) as a start. My experience wasn't all that positive, so I went and got myself a radio shack sound pressure level meter (RS SPL). It was a worthwhile investment.

Also, make sure you're using LPCM or HDMI for your audio and not toslink/coax. Only HDMI (or analog outs on your BD player) can handle the new lossless codecs.

I received a free instruction booklet with each Axiom speaker I purchased, I even read them.

Click here for your FREE Qs4/Qs8 Quick Setup Guide, it also has some neat pictures in it...




I feel privileged!

I would have to agree with others. Don't despair. Take your time and calibrate your system with an SPL meter. There are very helpful posts in this forum as well as by Alan in the main site to use as reference. You owe it to yourself to be very impressed with what you have. The volume setting on your EP-500 should be somewhere between 6-7 o'clock position. When properly calibrated with an SPL meter, your system should have a superb sound with a very articulate and powerful bass.

John

jwright350, I just wanted to reiterate a point that has been mentioned. When I first got my M80s, my immediate reaction was that they weren't that much better than the Polk bookshelves I was replacing. There was a bit more clarity, and a bit more low end, but considering the words used in a lot of reviews, you hope for a more pronounced difference right off.

I gave it some time, and I played a lot of material, and over the evaluation period I realized just how much I wasn't getting with the other speakers I've owned in the past. I was expecting a more sudden and profound realization, but it just didn't happen that way for me. Now that I'm used to a detailed, full-range system, it's hard for me to listen to a lot of stuff on lesser systems. It's like a lot of the life has been vacuumed out.

Anyway, there's still the chance you won't find the purchase as worthwhile as I have found mine, but you should certainly do what you can to get the most out of it during the evaluation period. You may be surprised how the experience creeps up on you.

you guys crack me up, thanks for the reality check. I've managed to become one of those whiney post whores that I so hate on other forums.

I lugged the EP500 around a bit to a different part of the room and the difference was night and day. It must have been in some strange location. I felt much better when my wife told me the dishes in the cabinets were about to fall out. Mucho better. I need to continue to play with the receiver settings though. I suspect I should turn the sub volume way down and re run the auto calibration. Before I was running it at 1/2 volume. Right now I'm using a PS3 for the BluRay source via HDMI. I've played around with it's sound settings and I think I've got them right. I can't even use my old CD player because the bass causes it to skip now. LOL

Now, I digress. I still say the T-Brackets are a joke. My education and early years were spent as a mechanical engineer designing all sorts of brackets and gizmos for a bus company. Fact: it doesn't take 7 screws to hold a 10 lb speaker onto dry wall. 2 Screws mounted into the drywall with proper anchors is more than sufficient. Technically speaking a single screw can hold 150lbs in shear in 1/2" drywall. They did it right on the full metal bracket... these were definitely and afterthought. But no big deal... when installed with anchors they work well.

Later in life I switched to running a promotional marketing company. A gift with purchase is a must when you have a brand with a loyal following and a product that takes significant money and/or effort to obtain. Everyone on this forum would have been overjoyed to get a free Axiom audio shirt with their speaker order and would wear it on a daily basis with pride I suspect.

Again though, thanks for helping set me straight... I'm certain its only going to get better. I'm already eyeballing those new outdoor speakers for my deck.

Excellent! Subs are like real estates: location, location, location!

My T-Brackets (for the side) are held with two central screws only. It's way enough on my case. I also have the full metal brackets, but never got around (or felt the need in my current appt) to try them out.

Once again, glad to hear things are improving for you. It will only get better as all variables slowly fall into place (it's a LONG tweaking process, but definitely worth it and you get to enjoy progressive and constant improvement!).

While true that everyone loves goodies and we'd likely wear our Axiom shirts, I don't hold it against them at all. I don't have a background in marketing, though, so maybe I just don't know what I should be missing. Consider excellent customer service and a kick-ass forum your free gifts.

Discalimer: I should disclose that I've gotten plenty of free gifts from Axiom, thanks in part to my post count.

Once again I must say.......I hate you. :P

I do agree with jwright, my SVS sub came with a simple pen with SVS printed on it, I thought it was great(I know simple things amuse small minds). Although I must say, the Axiom shirt I received when Amie was in town was a very pleasant surprise.

We are here to entertain! I accept that you don't like the brackets, but Axiom puts all its money into sound. The T bracked with a few screws is enough. As someone who has done marketing, you can appreciate that the extra screw holes are probably a liability limiter aimed at those who do not like to follow instructions.

As for the free swag, after 15 years as a marketing/trade show whore, I have gotten more than enough t-shirts, mugs, key chains, mouse pads, pins, posters... to last several lifetimes.

Well, at the risk of sounding like a jerk, I'll say that the bonus I received from Axiom was getting $4,000 worth of sound from speakers they only charged $2,500 for.

I didn't miss a pen or a shirt.