Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Subwoofer - Upgrade?

Hey everyone,

Probably going to catch some biased answers in here but maybe not.
My HT setup consists of:

Axiom M80 v3's fronts
Axiom VP180 v4 center
Axiom QS8 v4 surrounds
Velodyne DPS12 sub
Pioneer Elite SC-LX701

Due to an insurance mishap I have the opportunity to upgrade my subwoofer, was flirting with the idea of ordering an EP500 with the sale that's currently on.

Question is, is it a big difference from what I already have or am I just paying money to have another Cherry wood speaker in the house? The velodyne is nice but I find it to be harsh and boomy at times

Thanks in advance

There is no boom in the Axiom sealed subs. They also have a phase control for better integration. There is no port noise because there's no port. THD is practically negligible. How big is your space in cubic feet?

Thanks Mojo,

I'm not home to give 100% accurate measurement but this will be close.

25' long
12' wide
10' ceiling

So approx 3000 cubic feet

I have 4,200 ft^3. I thought the 800v4 was real good...and it is. But the 800v4 with two 500v4 is so much better.

The best advice I can give you is if you want smooth bass throughout your room, go multiples. If all you care about is your main listening position, one is just fine.

EP500 v4 vs a 15 year old velodyne dps12 is a considerable upgrade then?

Here's my review of the 800. It's called The Might from Dwight:

https://www.axiomaudio.com/reviews/index/list/product/64/

Ian has tuned the 600 to reach down as low as the 800 but it won't go as loud. The specs page does not reflect this for the 600 I don't think. Ian uses 600s in his set-up.

I can't definitively answer that because I have not heard the Velodyne but if I had a gun to my head and was asked to choose, I would take the 500v4. It's sealed, no farting noises, no harmonic distortion. Just real nice, transparent, room-filling bass.

Lastly, the 500 vs the 600...

Is it THAT much better?

Mainly for gaming and movies

The 600 will reach 6Hz lower than the 500. It will not go louder than the 500. If you want to feel infrasonics in movies, or listen to pipe organ, go 600. Otherwise, the 500 will reach down to 18Hz which will give you a nice vibe. You will not be able to hear that. Depending on how old you are, you may not even be able to hear 20Hz.

All Axiom EP (sealed) subs have the same sound: smooth, deep, tight, fast, transparent, undistorted bass that doesn't draw attention to itself but rather blends with the rest of the material no matter how much the volume is turned up.

These subs also have a "boost" mode which allows you to turn up the mid-bass if you so wish.

600 because it will go lower.

A 500 or 600 will be a huge upgrade. It's a tough call between the 2. Either way, you will be grinning at deep, clean, tight bass.

Alright about to pull the trigger on the 600, got me thinking. What about 2x 500’s instead, get one now and another in the summer or something .....

Slippery slope this AV stuff

Get a 600 and then a 500. The 600 will support the deep bass.

A single 500 will work in your room. I just tried one 500 in mine and I would not complain if I had only that one.

I just listened at reference level, which on the particular song I was listening to, was hitting 103 dBC peaks at 12 feet away. No complaints from the single 500. Just smooth bass!

Hi Minorc

I have twin EP500s in a 2.2 channel music system. I love them!

Bass is substantially less directional than upper frequencies, but twin subs contribute to that wonderful 'wall of sound.'

Good luck to you on your new Axiom sub(s).

This is an excellent path to bass. You won't regret it.

More subs = smoother bass throughout the entire listening area.

Sure, you can crank them both up if wanted, but the real benefit of dual (or more) subs is getting better response in the room from seat to seat. You may find that with one sub, your seat is in a null and you barely notice the bass, or it is lacking quite a bit, but 4 feet to your left it is really good (or maybe even too much). Putting a second sub in at a different location (a whole other conversation on placement) and if done right, it can feed into that null and lift up the levels there, while pulling down some of the over the top bass at another location.

Now if that means two EP500s, or a EP600 now and something else down the road is up to you.

Nick, I have found the addition of two 500s to the existing 800 gave me more than spatially smooth bass. It unmasked bass details and three dimensionality that either did not exist or was only hinted at with the 800.

I follow the same experience with my twin 350s up front and 600 in the back corner. I still would like to update to twin 500s at some point but can't justify it right now... $$$$$

Randy, like you my larger sub (800) is in the back corner and the smaller subs (twin 500s) are up front. It worked out well with regard to time alignment.

Sorry Minorc, I have been away from the forum. I had that exact velodyne sub before moving to Axiom speakers. To be blunt, I upgraded to the EP350 first and that was miles better than the boomy Velodyne. I have since upgraded to an EP500 and that is even better. My budget has been focused on other home renos at the moment but my next upgrade is a second EP500 . Lucky for me, I cottage not too far from Axiom and make a trip out of picking up my gear

Well, at about 9pm last night I pulled the trigger on the EP500 after discussing future HT plans with the wife. Will get a second EP500 at a later date.

Thanks for the replies fellas, looking at those signatures I'm seeing some legendary level HT setups.

I'd love to know what you think after hearing them.

Oh good. It looks like I'd have made the right call against the Velodyne and lived to tell about it.

That is what I said. With a single sub, regardless of the size, you will end up with peaks and nulls. More subs evens out the effect across more room nodes. More subs and smoother response across more area will end up giving greater detail than a single sub.

So what you and I are describing are the same even if described differently. The overall statement here is that more subs = better sound across more seats.

I see. That does make sense. Thanks.

SVS is currently running a closeout special on their PB12-NSD. It's $499 shipped, 5 year warranty and 45 day in home trial period. It goes down to 18Hz +/-3db. 400W continuous, 800W peak. It's gotten stellar reviews over they years. I ordered one for my bar area to complement the M5HPs. I'll be receiving it this week and will try it out on Friday.

One heck of a deal. That will work very well with your M5s. Thanks, Steve.

I ordered a SB12-NSD for my son-in-law for Christmas for $399 (no tax, free shipping)... Got an email today that they oversold on them and he is now getting a SB-2000 instead (hits a few Hz lower, 500 RMS/1100 peak watt amp vs the 400/800 in the SB12-NSD). Nice! Ordered a model that has been out of production for a year, got a current model $699 sub (never really goes on sale) for $399. Pretty excited for him. I would have loved to get him a PB12-NSD instead of the sealed SB12-NSD, but size was a factor too.

Nothing against Axiom's subs at all, just fits the bill nicely.

I love my EP800's but $499 for a PB12-NSD is a steal. It's a no brainer.