I'm thinking about my first Axiom purchase, an EP125 subwoofer for my bookshelves. The real wood sounds very nice. How does it look and sound, and is it worth the extra money?

It will not sound different. It is a thin piece of wood adhered to MDF. It will look real nice. The vinyls look real nice too.

How big of a room are you putting this EP125 in, and what are your expectations from it?

Anybody reading this use an EP125? What are your experience with this unit? I'm just curious because I upgraded from and EP175 to an EP350 before I found what worked for me.

Right now it will go in a small apartment size living room, but eventually an open concept living room of about 11'9 x 11'9. It will be strictly for music purposes. Would this sub be large enough?

Having no experience with the EP125, I can't say for sure. It is designed for small rooms, but not for loud volume levels. I would be looking at the 175, or even the 350 instead. 175 has a much smaller box if that's what you're looking for. For top loudness levels you'd want the 350. Say 70-100db range. Under this the 175 would probably work ok.

I plan to get the M80s down the road, so a sub to compliment those would be nice. Again, both for music listening not HT.

Thinking maybe the 125 is too small then. Or how about dual 125's, if not a 175?

In that case, I'd get the EP350 as the minimum sized sub. It would work well with any of Axiom's speakers. If you want to spend less than that, then others here have purchased subs from other mfgs. that work well with their Axiom setups.

Do you have the wood or vinyl finish?

I'd stay away from the 125. I think you would be dissapointed in anything but the smallest of applications/rooms. When I think 125, I'm thinking along the size/power range of a good PC speaker setup.

The 175 is a better option, but I doubt it'd keep up with the M80's. It's better suited to the M2/M3/M22 sized speakers.