Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Will this sub void my homeowners insurance?

This EP500 may crack the foundations of my house.

I have never had a subwoofer before, so I was expecting more bass. But WOW!!!

The system arrived yesterday. Beautifully built Mti60 and VP150 AND EP500. Still haven't unpacked the 8s. Started with stereo, then 3 channel, then 3.1.

I have been testing the features of my 3805 and the different surround settings. I love the range of the 60's.

Back to the EP500. At initial settings the sub was completely overpowering the fronts. My current settings (midnight last night) are crossover at 60 and sub volume at 1/3.

At one point last night my wife asked me why the house was shaking. I haven't had the volume over 50% yet.

I love the lows of the sub even at low volume. I don't think I have too much sub if this is the sub to give me the LFE's I have felt already.

My question is. Is this low volume setting the norm.?

although i do not have the EP500, it is extremely common to have the volume on subs set fairly low. i usually have my sub between 25-40%, depending on the source material. so, dont be alarmed or worried that you only have it at 1/3(33%). thats about normal.

once you get everything up, take the time to properly calibrate the whole system.. you might find that the volume will need to go even lower if it is over powering the M60's. and maybe try the crossover at 80Hz, and see if that makes a difference.

bigjohn

bugbitten,

To properly adjust the levels of all your new Axioms at least start by investing in an SPL meter at Radio Shack if you haven't done so already. It is a MUST for getting all your speakers balanced out so none of them are over powering one another but all at the same level. Most will also suggest that you buy either the AVIA or DVE (Digital Video Essentials) disc as sometimes the pink noise used for calibrating in most receivers vary slightly from the output of the same through the digital feed from your DVD player.

Regarding the volume setting: Since everyone's rooms are different sizes, shapes and contain a varying of contents there is really no way to say what a correct volume setting would be. This is where the SPL meter becomes your best friend. Once you calibrate all of your Axioms where they are all outputting the same volume then that part of a "correct volume" is established then all you have to do is use your master volume to play at whatever level your ears enjoy.

Welcome to the Axiom club and be prepared to smile even wider once you get your QS8's installed.

Regards,
Rick

bugbitten,

I'm delighted you like your M60ti's and EP500.
Good advice from everyone in this thread. I'd also add that occasionally as you play different DVDs, CDs, or other material, you may want to tweak the master volume on the EP500 or, more conveniently, the level of the Sub channel on your receiver.

Some recordings have overwhelming amounts of deep bass (Telarc, for one); others are on the lean side. Likewise, levels of the LFE (sub) channels may vary with different movies, or with different mixes (Dolby Digital vs. dts) on the same DVD. There is no absolute level setting, because there are so many variables in your particular room and setup, but manual calibration with an SPL meter and setup DVD is a good place to start. And having the master volume of the EP500 in the first third of so of rotation is a good basic setting--about the 11 o'clock setting.

Regards,

I'm glad Alan mentioned the Telarc discs. If you're even slightly into classical music make sure you get their recording of the Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. Between the cannons on that disc and the 500, you'll probably need to get your fillings reworked after they've been shaken out of your head!

Congrats on the new system!

btw...speaking of classical music, if you want a terrific sounding set of Beethoven's symphonies...

Oooh... how many discs is that?

hmm, that looks pretty good. i've been looking for a quality matched set of those for a while now. as it is i've just got a 2nd and 5th disc, and a 9th, neither of which is earthshattering in quality.

Five discs.

CD Universe seems to have the best price.

>>I love the lows of the sub even at low volume. I don't think I have too much sub if this is the sub to give me the LFE's I have felt already.

IMO that is the sign of a really good sub and proper calibration. It almost disappears, you don't "notice" a lot of bass (well, except when the cannons go off ) but everything suddenly sounds incredibly realistic.