I'm on a bit of an energy saving kick and would really like to know if the EP500 has an auto on/off feature?

I usually turn off the sub before going to bed, but if i leave it on, does it go into a power save mode? Does it really draw any power at idle? If so how much?

There is no power saving mode per se. Axiom has answered that question on various occasions point in this forum (you may want to try various keywords if you want a more official answer). The bottom line was that the Ep500 consumes very, very little power when it does not have to work.

This is similar to most electronics of the past few years. You'll notice most electronics don't have an OFF switch. They have a STANDBY switch. This is too allow a very low amount if electricity to keep components warm with in the electronic device; to avoid a "cold start" when you push the power button.

Think about it this way. When does a light bulb blow? Usually when you first turn it on. It's the sudden surge of power that hits the cold filament that make is blow. If you could only have a few watts keeping the filament warm, they would last much longer. But Light bulbs are so cheap; it doesn't make sense to do this.

However you plasma TV, HT receiver, or in this case EP500, are much more expensive to replace.

As a general rule you should never use a power bar to turn on and off electronic components.

If you are not going to use the EP500 for a few weeks, unplug it. However if you plan to use it a few times a week, keep it plugged in. The cost of electricity is minimal compared to the cost of a repair bill for the components.

Paul

I believe the 500 does have a "remote" jack just like my 600. This usually consists of a 12V trigger and comes from your receiver. When you turn the receiver on, a 12V pulse wakes up the sub. I haven't tried this so I don't know how good it works.

I would guess that the power consumption at idle is about 10W. I'm not even sure if the power consumption goes to zero with the switch turned off. Many devices nowadays have the switch on the secondary of the power transformer to keep the size of the switch smaller. So the primary is always connected and draws a small amount of power.

Hi Mojo,

Thanks for the update. According to Tom Cumberland, Axiom's electrical engineer who designed the amplifier for the EP500/600, the EP500 consumes "about as much as a night light," which is likely around 10 watts or maybe a bit less. He has never been more specific, and I've never measured the current draw in the 500's ON but not active mode.

Using the EP500's hard OFF switch does totally turn off the sub's amplifier. I tend to turn my EP500 off at night because, as a kid, I was constantly harrassed by my parents to "turn out the lights!" and I find it unsettling not to obey, even though my parents passed away years ago.

It makes no sense, of course, because everything else I use that has a remote-control circuit is always on stand-by, waiting to be kicked into life by one of my many remotes. . .I think there is some startling statistic from the U.K. that measured the increased power consumption of all those wall warts and standby circuits of electronics. I think the E.U. has issued some recent edict about this.

I also don't advocate using a power bar to completely turn off all components.

Regards,

Alan

I measured both of my EP500s once. At idle, each one consumed 12 Watts.