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Right now I have 2 ep500's. Wondering if its worth upgrading to two ep600's? Anyone had both? If so what are your thoughts? Thanks a lot. Also is the ep 600 still tight? For instance on something like rock is the kick drum still really articulate? Thanks a lot



Both subs have the same sonic signature: articulate, detailed and amazingly linear and tight compared to other vented alignments. Where the two EP subs differ is in output and extension with the 600 having on average 3db more output across the band and 3hz deeper extension. The greater output is not as trivial as it looks since 3db represents twice the loudness. However the 500 would be regarded as a powerful sub by most standards so we are looking at a small incremental increase in performance.

With dual subs, the extra 3db does afford greater headroom in dialling in the subs to achieve cleaner bass ie. you can set the gain that much lower and by doing so less distortion. The 3hz greater extension will mean more palpable visceral feeling bass, though it may be difficult to sense it without a side by side between the 500 and 600 in your room. The one negative with the 600 is its much larger size compared to the 500 which may or may not matter to you. For its size the 500 is a helluva performer so it is a tough call when price is also factored in. As Pmbuko mentioned, whether or not the incremental performance from dual 600s is worth $1160 is up to you.

Another, alternative to consider for the money is to add a third EP500. Again we are dealing with diminishing incremental improvements but adding multiple subs does improve FR across all the seats in the room and goes a long way to diminishing the effect of the room by further smoothing nodes.

Yet another considertion which would be easier on the pocketbook , would be to just order one 600 and swap with one of your 500s to get the benefit of the extension and some increased output. You won't have any problem mixing and matching 500s and 600s.

At one time a couple of years ago I had 3 600s, 2 500s and an SVS PC-Ultra to experiment with and all the combinations work very well, though the SVS-Ultra was the weakest performer. I was running a pair of stereo 600s when John Bridgman last visited.

The biggest improvement comes with dual subs but there is no disputing you get better sound from the 600s. Like most things in audio above certain performance points you have to pay considerably more for sonic improvements, a decision which only you can make.