Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners What's Wrong with Axiom Subs?

Well, the EP350 and the VP150 both arrived last night. Was not sure I should hook them up without having the other speakers here. I couldn't wait, decided to hook them up and see....the sub rocks. I did the test tones on my Denon with the sub set up in the recommended configuration.....we have yet to find the dog, I think she decided to move out. The VP 150 does seem very detailed, but this could be just as much a product of running the audio soley out of two fronts prior to that for 3 months. Either way, I am happy. Long story short, the neighbors are happy for me, but they also have the MP's number on speed dial while they wait for my other six speakers to arrive. hehe

Thanks BigWill,
I am also wondering about subs, crossovers, and squarewaves. The bigger the speaker, the higher the mass, the more difficult it is to 'turn around' so sounds like percussion aren't as sharp. Conversely, you need a large excursion to get the low notes and larger speakers can better move air around.
I am really trying to find a system that would accurately play music one moment and the "rock the block" with a DVD explosion the next without me having to reach behind the sub to adjust the settings. I have a CD that has previously revealed ugly sounding subs: Billy Cobham's "Warning". The last track has some syth bass notes that sound all uneven if your sub settings aren't damn near perfect.

-Wyatt

I have a Billy Cobham, but unfortunately it doesn't have that tune on the disc. Ini Kamoze's old hit "Hotstepper" has some great bass on it, too, but not ridiculously low.

It's unfortunate that Craigsub hasn't chimed in here - he is a sub expert (and all around audio expert) whose advice you can certainly trust.

I'm sure I'll get corrected, but I think the little micro-subs, with their sealed design and huge amps aren't very good. Kind of muffled and indistinct. They can go low and loud, but I haven't liked the few I've heard.

The cheap Velodyne line is a larger ported sub, right? Probably about the same as all the other ported box designs, IMO. Differences between the good ones due mainly to driver and enclosure size, amp power, and driver quality.

I really liked the SVS 20-39 for HT from the brief demo I was given. We didn't listen to any music, but it rumbled and thumped without any boominess at all. You could really feel the distinct LF effects as opposed to them being resonant and boomy. If I had to do it over, even though I am more than satisfied with the EP350, that is probably the one I'd buy (SVS PC+ 20-39, that is).

BigWill... I have not posted on this topic only because I have not heard an Axiom subwoofer. I DO have an idea for Alan Lofft and Amie... Alan was put off a bit in our floorstanding speaker review because I was using a small, 8 inch, Hsu subwoofer with the Ascend 340's.

Alan... Here is another thought. I own a pair of M-22ti's AND the VDP-150 center channel. Since the M22ti's AND the EP-350 subwoofer would add up to $1020 delivered, If you would like, rather than the M-80's, I would be happy to review the M-22/EP-350 combo as a system... and compare it to the ELT-CSE/UFW-10 and 340/STF-1... Three bookshelf designs with each company's subwoofers.

Comments ?

Wyatt, on the point about bigger speakers not sounding as "sharp", this isn't necessarily the case. First, all subwoofers are inherently "slow" in that the 20-100Hz frequencies that they cover are very slow in relation to the rest of the audio range. As long as the magnet for the bigger driver is correspondingly more powerful, the subwoofer range is just as well-controlled as a smaller sub would be(see Dr. Toole's discussion of this point on page 11 of his paper). Another point is that to the extent that a low frequency sound seems sharp or fast, it's due almost entirely to the upper harmonics of the low note, which are reproduced by the mid-range speaker, not the sub. A check on this point can be had by playing a CD which has some low notes which sound sharply defined, but with all speakers but the sub disconnected. The result is in no way "fast".