As some of you know, I was having problems with my EP350 since the stand-by circuit kept cutting out the sub. So after much discussion and questions, I ordered up a new and improved EP500 with the mute circuit disabled. As expected, I can play music at whisper quiet volumes (just for testing of course) and the sub keeps on going. But is that all you get for $600??? I sure hope not
To start things off, I must say that neither of these subs were positioned ideally. The best place in my small room is front and center between the mains. During my testing, I put the two subs side by side straddling the 'sweet spot'. There isn't really anywhere else I could put them, so it had to do. As expected, both subs were calibrated to the same volume prior to any testing using the Yamaha test tones.
The first thing I noticed between the two subs is extension. The 500 was by far the winner in this category. In music, every now and then there is a nice deep bass drum that literally shakes you. You can't really hear it, but your whole body can 'feel' that its there. With the 350, these low 'thuds' were simply not there. The bass drum was very clearly played, but no shaking effect. A definate plus in the "WOW" effect for the 500. For movies, the best example I found was the Finding Nemo "Darla Tap" scene. From the first time I heard this a month ago with the EP350, I knew something was lacking. After hearing bass fanatics raving about this scene as the 'ultimate' deep bass, I was left disappointed. I knew the culprit of this was either the over-hyped rumor or the sub, and in this case it was definately the sub. When I got the 500, I played the 350 first to get a feel for what it sounded like before, and set the volume at a decently loud level. Again, I was left a little disappoined, so I switched subs in hopes of more impressive bass. As soon as I started the scene again, I instantly dove for the remote. Ceiling tiles were shaking, stuff on my desk was rattling, and I jumped pretty good too...
That's more like it!!! I finally heard the scene the way the rumors described it. I'm impressed how much the cone gets moving on scenes like this, but its supposedly safe with the DSP constantly protecting against overdriving it. Other bassy scenes showed similar improvements, but not as significant as this one.
Next up, clairity. Suprizingly, there was very little difference between the two that I could notice in the mid to upper bass. The 500 did seem to have clearer low bass, which is likely due to its greater extension. I did a few blind tests with very inconclusive results. It seems that with my poor setup and untrained ear (haven't listened to a whole lot of good subs), the two sounded almost the same. The thing that gave it away in most cases was a deep bass note which was noticibly louder on the 500. I'm guessing that better sub placement and some bass treatment would help bring out any other differences between the two (both of which I couldn't do).
Was the upgrade worth $600? Depends who you ask since I have no idea how to put a price on sound quality. I'm happy I did. I'm no longer struggling just to keep it turned on, and I am really starting to love that real deep bass that used to hide in music. It should keep upgraditis out of my way for a long time. Actually, I doubt I'll ever 'replace' it, but possibly add another one if I decide to move the theater into a huge room, but it would have to be REALLY big to 'need' another one (from what I've heard). For the time being (and for quite some time to come), I'm going to continue to enjoy this excellent system that I have now.
One more thing, I know everyone here likes pics
. Here's a few of the two subs to show their difference in size and appearance. The center was placed there only temporarily, so that green mat showing isn't normal. I know it looks bad
. The last two are the final setup.
