Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater If you had the money...

Which route would you chose? SVS PB13-ULTRA or the EP800, thoughts? Is the EP800 worth the $575.00 extra?

Thanks

If i had the money, i would order both... Both companies offer a 30 day return window right?

That is the only advice i can give you...

That's decent advice, Dakkon.

Some years ago, I was fortunate enough to compare a PB13-ultra and EP600 in the company of several other forum members. The subs sounded different, and they were both excellent. The forum member (myrison) ended up keeping the EP600.

Hi Shoie,
Dakkon called it on trying both.

However, for what it's worth, I have an EP500 (v2 I think) and my in-laws have a PC Ultra 13 (not the PB). Both subs are excellent, but I find while the SVS can go lower, it somehow does not sound quite as 'clean' or 'articulate' as the EP500. Keep in mind this is an off the cuff impression based on 2 totally different rooms and HT setups, so not a real back to back comparison. The SVS does have huge amounts of output however to fill a large room (Transformers3 sure was fun with the SVS) My goal eventually is to have maybe an EP800 or equivalent sub to have the lowest extension (EP500 drops off at 20Hz) and keep the clean articulate sound of the EP500 in my HT.

I would ge the SVS PB13-ULTRA

Neither, I'd go for dual vs-18.1 with the Dayton sa1000 outboard amp, under 2k total. Don't forget set additional funds aside to repair the foundation of your house.

Dana, why the vs instead of the ss?

Doubtful that you would be unhappy with either one. I was down to Axiom vs SVS as well and chose Axiom for several reasons. Here they are in no particular order; take from them what you will:

1. The EP800 shaves off a huge 10 inches of depth. For me, the less protruding into the room the better.

2. The EP800 plays deeper, down to 12Hz (PB13U down to 16Hz), which is important to me for movies.

3. The EP800 is linear down to 15Hz (PB13U linear down to 20Hz).

4. In sealed mode, the SVS does not remain flat while the EP800 stays flat down to 15Hz.

5. I'm partial to sealed subs. Although port noise very rarely occurs with ported subs, the possibility nonetheless exists. With a sealed sub, I know it will never happen.

I don't recall why, but at the time the difference in cost for me would've been roughly $250-$300, so it was worth it for me to go with the EP800. Honestly I haven't regretted it; whether movies or music, the EP800 has been a stellar performer.

TomT,

I only suggest VS just from a pure output/slam factor.
I actually wanted to go with the ss.2 originally when i bought mine, but couldn't due to WAF. frickin thing is HUGE!

I'm 50% music which is why I went sealed, now if OP does listen to decent amount of music, then I most certainly recommend the SS versions.

Thanks for all the help!

I'm still hopeful for an ep800 some day.

The dual vs-18.1's look very interesting. There are going in a "movie only" set-up. I'll have to see how much shipping to Ontario is. What about these vs. dual Epik Empires?

Dale Rasco from hometheatershack did a great review on dual VS-18's here:
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/s...3-2-review.html

Just my subjective opinion, but dual empires would not stand a chance against the VS's...

Looks like the winner are the HSU VTF-15H Dual Drives. Even with the crazy amount of money for shipping to Canada, these are coming in cheaper the the EP800. I'll also get to enjoy the benefit of dual subs!

I'm sure you'll be very happy with those, and I look forward to reading your review!

You also have to be careful with the additional brokerage and customs fees on these as well. If they ship by UPS, then the fees THEY charge are totally outrageous and on the verge of criminal and enough to perhaps make it NOT worth your while. For that reason alone, I try to avoid any shipper out of the US that ships via UPS. FedEx isn't that much better.

[quote=casey01You also have to be careful with the additional brokerage and customs fees on these as well. If they ship by UPS, then the fees THEY charge are totally outrageous and on the verge of criminal and enough to perhaps make it NOT worth your while. For that reason alone, I try to avoid any shipper out of the US that ships via UPS. FedEx isn't that much better. [/quote]
Indeed. For something like this, I would be tempted to ship to a UPS store or similar in Buffalo and take them across yourself.

I know, it's pretty (really) bad, but HSU includes these fees as part of their quote. Although, shipping anything 300lbs this far can't be cheap. The only extra charge should be the duty. I wonder if Axiom deals with the same issues going from Canada into the USA?

That's a good question, because it's suppose to be free trade....right. I like shipping USPS because Canada Post only charges HST, if that sometimes.

No tracking but it always makes it, and in better shape too.

The way the law is "suppose" to be is if the item is when imported in to Canada, categorized and clearly shown on the box as being "Made in the USA", there should be no customs or import duties on the item, just maybe a minimal brokerage charge because it should clear almost automatically. The trouble with UPS is that they are still charging the same charges no matter what or where it is from. I ordered something from a company back a few years ago that was clearly marked as being "made in the USA" and cost $400.00 yet, UPS hit me with a brokerage fee of almost $160.00! They said it was a percentage of the value but I couldn't pinpoint down how they came up with the fee and they were hesitant to tell me. Unfortunately, when it gets in to large items like speakers, the postal service doesn't handle those so that only leaves essentially UPS or FedEx and it is a real scam.

Since Axiom is Made in Canada, I am not exactly sure and perhaps the guys here from the US could advise, but the same rules apply to a product manufactured domestically as opposed to being originally imported then shipped out. Minimal additional duties and/or taxes "should" apply.

I'm not certain that Hsu subs are made in the USA.

Good question, on their website they show the ULS15 and VTF 15 as being "Designed & Engineered in the USA" but I am not sure if that would apply under the terms and conditions of NAFTA as actually being assembled domestically. I guess the folks at HSU would be the ones to answer that question.

I never really noticed this before but Axiom indicates on their product description/order page "No sales tax or duties payable in the US".

Designed and engineered in USA would certainly NOT fall under NAFTA. The subs would have to be at the very least final assembled in USA, Mexico or Canada.

As for Axiom, their products fall under NAFTA since final assembly is in Canada.

IIRC, Hsu products are assembled offshore and have been for a number of years.