Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater WOOOOOOOOW!!!

Ok first of all.... how's everybody?

Holy cow, I can't believe it's been this long since I've posted on here! I've had a pretty rough time since I used to post on here daily. I split off with my fiancee Amy, moved into a friends house, and now just recently moved again into my own home.

In the break-up I kept all of my audio/video equipment since I bought all of it, and since I was much more into that sort of thing anyhow. She kept all of the camera equipment. Now the title of this thread was my response the first time I set up and demoed my HT system in my new digs. You see when I lived with Amy I completely revamped her living room from a run down, children infested disaster area, into a viewing room for our customers, which also doubled as our home theater system in the evenings. And she insisted on hardwood floors for a classy atmosphere for the clients. And I must say it was a stunning room visualy... but sonically it left much to be desired.

Not that I was complaining at the time. Even with the audibly challenged construction design of the room, I thought the Epic 80/800 HT package I outfitted it with sounded supurb in every way imaginable. And I said as much on here many, many times. However one thing I consistantly maintained was that the EP800, while being a very competent subwoofer, was more of a musical sub, and not so much a 'SHAKE THE HOUSE OFF OF ITS FOUNDATION' sort of sub. In other words I thought it followed bass notes with precision and accuracy, without being extremely overpowering. In short, I didn't consider it to be excessively loud.

However another thing that I always pointed out was that I was (and still am) a car audio guy. And car audio enthusiasts like myself are used to filling a very, very small area (as compared to home theater) with lots and lots of bass. So I was used to 'FAT' bass, or unrealistic levels of bass... overpowering bass to be sure. So with that sort of bass as a reference point, the EP800 didn't quite give me the same experience as the dual 12 inch subs in the trunk of my Volkswagen Passat being fed by a 3000 watt Precision Power amplifier gave me. I was admittedly spoiled when it came to bass output.

I was able to improve the bass response in our living room in a number of ways. First and foremost was moving the EP800 out from underneath the TV and placing it behind my seating area. Later on (which I don't think I ever chronicled here) I added two more EP800's which, along with strategic placement, boosted bass performance even more. I was actually quite satisfied with my set-up, I found the amount of bass to be quite adequate and did not find myself wanting higher levels what-so-ever. However, I never did agree with those who would come on here and exclaim that the EP800 would crumble the house down to its foundation if played too loudly. I simply did not feel the sub was capable of that kind of bass output. Nice, strong bass performance : yes. "Blow you out of your seat" performance : no.

After we split up and I moved into my friends home (which was empty, I shared it with no one), my HT was again housed in a hardwood floor area. So even though it was a much smaller room to have to fill with bass, my impression of the EP800's did not change. I moved into my own place a while back, and finally set up my HT in the basement just a few days ago. This area is a 14 x 28 foot rectangle with just under 7 foot ceilings... and it's CARPETED!!! So at first all I had set up was my M80's, the VP150 and one of my EP800's. Without turning on the EP800 I played some music and found the M80's seemed to be playing MUCH warmer than I had remembered. Not muddy mind you, it wasn't a 'bad' warm... it's just that in comparison I'd have to say they were much brighter in the hardwood environment. But even though there were brighter in the previous two rooms, I still thought they sounded remarkably good. But now they sounded even better!

Ok so then it was time to turn on the EP800... WOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!! To all of those who I'd doubted when they proclaimed the EP800 could tear down the walls and I countered by saying I didn't think it was that powerful of a sub.... my deepest apologies! I guess I just hadn't heard it in the right surroundings.

Overpowering? Check. Earth shaking? Check. Ear drum bursting??? CHECK!!!

And that was with only ONE of the 3 800's hooked up. I still had another two to go (gasp)! So yes the bottom line is... performance has EVERYTHING to do with the environment you put them in. In wide open, hard surface, square rooms I found my Epic 80/800 system to be a very well rounded and competent HT system that filled the room with crisp, clean, extremely detailed music... but never would I have characterized it as being overbearing.

Now that this same system is nestled in a much more sonically advanced area, it's just as detailed as ever, but now it also sounds much fuller, more powerful, and it's as if I quadrupled (at least) the power to the bass amp! So now I very much do consider the EP800 as an amp that can shake a house to its foundation!




.... and today I'm going to hook up the other two 800's and discover just how much damage they can really do!!!

Cheers and beer chug to Freedom Mike!!!!

Glad to have you back.

Welcome back, Mike!

Did you say you have th-th-three EP800's?

Well, yeah. We've all been saying that.

Nice to have you back!

Did… did you say… THREE… EP800s?!?!?!


WOOOOOOOOW!!!

(you said it )

That alone was worth the entire story. The return of a like mind is always to be celebrated! Rock on, Mike!

Welcome back Micah - I wondered a few times where you'd gotten to! I assume you kept the bike(s) in the whole ordeal as well? That's just as important as the audio! .:ducks and runs:. Hope all of this change is for the better for you.

Any chance you won't need all three 800's and are looking for a worthy home to donate only one of them to?

Nice to see ya back...

Welcome back! Great post.

What everyone else said.

Yes, yes go ahead, you can all share in a big ol, "WE TOLD YA SO"!!!

Not that I ever remember arguing that environment had nothing to do with it. I had originally auditioned Axiom speakers out over in SRoodes mancave for God sakes, so I knew that things like room treatments, carpet, non-square areas, being in a basement, cement, etc... all contributed to the over all sound experience the user would partake in.

However what I do remember.... meh, not so much arguing as much as just not agreeing with some who claimed they couldn't turn their EP500/600/800 up all the way without destroying their fine China in the dining room. I remember being very vocal to those coming here for subwoofer advice and telling them that for the money, you could find much more bang for the buck in SVS and HSU subs than in Axiom subs. My stance was, "if you want a LOT of bass, you might look elsewhere for your subwoofer needs".

My position hasn't really changed all that much concerning 'bang-for-the-buck' mind you. Axiom subs are still relatively high. I would say that you get what you pay for when buying an Axiom sub where as I feel you get MORE than what you pay for when you purchase a pair of M80's, M60's, QS8's, etc... Most of the rest of their speaker line-up I feel compete with speakers above their price point. Their subs on the other hand, are priced quite high.

But where my mind has most certainly been changed is with their bass output (well, the EP800's anyway... I can't give any educated reviews concerning any of their other subs as I've never heard any of them) levels. Where once I believed Axiom subs to be somewhat underpowered, I now have experienced the full wrath of the EP800's power in an environment which I'm sure is more what it was meant to be living in than where they have been up until this point.

And in their natural habitat... they are BEASTS!!!!

Oh, and thanks for all the 'welcome backs' by the way... now I know how Kotter felt all those years!

Wondered what had happened to you M!

Man, breakups suck. Especially serious relationships.

But having said that... FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!

Enjoy it. But be careful.

And when you do slip back into the arms of love (and you will), make sure she digs audio gear and all the paraphernalia attendant thereto.

Now go rock that bass single stylee...

Lol, ok let me just stop all of you before anyone else jumps in to try and cheer me up... Terry, the jesture is truly appreciated, thank you, but don't worry fellas, I'm done boo-hooing over Amy.

It did indeed take me a while to get through it, after all I took her all the way to Italy to propose and all that good stuff. But I'm no longer in morning. We split up in August of last year, so I've been single for almost a year now and I'm right where I want to be.

For starters I'm not looking for love and I'm not planning on doing so for quite some time. Having been married twice already and engaged twice more, I'm giving "love" a time-out for a while. This is what I kept telling myself to do everytime a relationship tanked, but I kept finding myself falling right back into a new relationship within 3 or 4 months on the rebound. I've found it takes a solid 6 months of being completely single before that addiction (yeah, I feel like that feeling of being in love can be just as addictive as drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc...) finally wears off and you can look at your life with a clarity you don't have when you're searching for that partner that's always eluded you.

I'm not saying everyone should be single, but I should be, at least until my kids are all grown up and no longer have to be dragged through all of my relationships as well. That's what I regret the most is that they had to get to know the 3 other women I was involved with, get close to them and their children, and then go through a 'break-up' of their own when things turned sour. Kids pay just as heavy a price during a break-up, if not heavier if you ask me.

So my daughter is 13, my son is 16... I have no plans on getting involved with another woman until my daughter has graduated from high school. And while I've told myself this many a time in the past, this time I'm dedicated to sticking with that plan. It's more of a pledge really, I've already blown enough chances on my own happiness, now I'm ready to just focus on my kids and my professional life. Love can wait, I'm over that anyway. Having way more fun single than I ever did in any of my relationships. You guys said it... FREEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOM!!!!! It really is nice to have.

So don't cry for me guys, seriously. My hard times are in my rearview, it's smooth sailing ahead for me. But thanks for the condolences anyway. It's the thought that counts after all.

I commend you for your pledge to your children. Bravo.

Welcome back, and I assume you got away with a motorcycle?

Micah, we all missed you and we're glad to see you back without any loss of your talent for writing lengthy posts. Yes, I suspect that now you'll find that the three EP800s can really supply "quite adequate" bass. With your changed living arrangements however, you may be in need of someone to nag you with "turn that damn thing down!" Out of the goodness of my heart I'll volunteer to perform that service here from time to time.

Motorcycle.... check!

Amy and I never did get married, so I pretty much left with what I brought with me, and most of the stuff I paid for while we were together. But I did leave about $5000 bucks worth of construction materials I put into overhauling her living room, a $2000 dollar Maytag washer/dryer set, and some camera equipment I'd bought for the business. So over all, she made out like a bandit.

But the bike is with me to be sure!

Talent? I've always considered it a curse!

Welcome back Micah! Eshain was asking about you and I said you were gone! Glad to have ya back!

I thought Bren was writing this post except two things tipped me off:

1) there was no previous marriage and,
2) the novella was one paragraph too long for his style

Otherwise micah, you had me going there.

Micah, I'd been wondering about you for a while, but I never did ask anyone if they knew how you were doing. I'm glad to see you posting again.

I'm still not in an ideal room for my EP800s. I really like what they can do right now, but I look forward to a better listening space that will get that much more performance from them.

Like my room????
Send away, I'll grant you full visitation rights.

Hey, welcome back, Micah.

I think I remarked at some point re car sound, that it's much easier to get very deep powerful bass in a car, relatively simply, because a car's interior space is so relatively tiny compared to rooms in a house.

Anyway, always great to have your novella-like posts and audio enthusiasms to stimulate conversation on the Axiom forums.

As the scientists have noted, two or more glasses of wine per day plus Axiom speakers and great music will help you tolerate your existence!

Warm regards,
Alan

Eshain... is that your wifes name?

Ok so who's this Bren character anyways? Another guy who likes to plaster his love life up on here for everyone to ooogle... or another guy who likes to write novels online?


lol

Ah just you wait CV! It's kind of like the time my uncle took my ZX-10 out for a ride. He had only ridden Harleys before my bike, so when he took off I could hear him rev it up to about 4500 rpm, then click it into the next gear. Jap bikes don't even start making power until around 5000 rpm. He pulled back into the drive and said, "well it's not bad, thought it'd be a little faster though".

I laughed and said, "uuuuummm.. you do realize this bike doesn't redline until you hit 13 THOUSAND rpm right? Take it back out, get it into 3rd gear, then pin the throttle and don't let out of it until the shift light comes on"!

He did what I suggested, pulled back into the drive and said, "I need to go empty my drawers"!!!

CV, until you get those subs into their ideal listening area, you've been shifting gears on a rice burner at 4500 rpm!!!

Yep.

Beautiful name. Is it Hindu, Steve?

Taiwanese. Her family moved over to the USA when she was about 12.

Oh. What does it mean? There's usually a cultural significance or rules followed in the naming. My friends wife's name is Miyuki, which is Japanese, and means "beautiful snow".

Unlike my boring name, Asian ones intrigue me.

Greeting, Cam. Your spirit animal is piston, yes?

Boring? Not at all. Actually the translation in native American language of your name,'Powertothepeople' means : the stripping of authority from those in the high ranking upper class, and distributing it amongnst those of the lower to middle class pee-ons...

Quite the interesting name if you ask me!

[quote=alan

As the scientists have noted, two or more glasses of wine per day plus Axiom speakers and great music will help you tolerate your existence!

[/quote]

I hate to quibble, Alan, but you left out Valium.

What do you mean by "piston", my friend?





Sorry, I forgot to say that it's nice to have you back, Mike!

Only that cams and pistons go hand in hand.

Ahhhhhhh, I get it :-). I was trying to think if an animal named Piston .

And you're darn good, Peter; as one of my monikers in school was Camshaft.

Mine was just shaft.

You're effin' hilarious, buddy !

Yeah I'm drawing a blank on that one as well... although there was the time my dog piston my dads back!



Ok that was weak. Anyways, what is the name of that site where you sell audio gear? Now that my HT is housed in this basement I have no need for this Emotiva outboard amp so I'd like to sell it. I remember a lot of talk about auction sites and the like before, but can't remember any of them.

Audiogon?

That'd be it. Thank you, you robotic fishman you!

Just send the amp up here and I will hold onto it till you discover you do need it.