Hi all,
At Axiom, in the course of developing the EP500, EP600 and EP400 DSP subwoofers over the past few years, we've been experimenting a lot with subwoofer drivers, enclosures and amplifiers. So it was only natural that a post on the message boards a while back served as an impetus to re-do the EP350 sub.
The resulting EP350 v3 is almost an entirely new subwoofer--and its performance is very much improved, so good in fact that it surpasses a competitor's sub (one with three letters and a huge, clumsy enclosure) and rivals the EP500. Don't get me wrong--the EP500 still goes deeper, plays louder, and is more linear, but the new 350 v3 is a very close competitor.
Here's the dope on the EP350 v3: It uses the EP500 enclosure and the same driver. The internal amplifier is not DSP-controlled and, at 300 watts, has 100 watts more output than the old 350. But the new 350 v3 has a nifty circuit inside that, well, gooses the performance without making the sub boomy, flabby or annoying.
As I write this, I'm looking at my handwritten notes from the double-blind listening tests I did in June to Sub #1 (EP350 v3, the new one); Sub#2 (existing EP350) and Sub#3 (big clumsy box, three-letter brand).
On a great acoustic jazz track (French jazz pianist Jacque Loussier playing jazz Bach), I noted: "best-defined string bass of all three subs; excellent!" On a rock selection, I said "lots of punch, truly great bass". For the existing 350, I noted "very good, but not quite as powerful or linear as #1 (the new 350 v3)".
On pipe organ: "Very deep bass, excellent" (new 350 v3). The competitor's sub got this from me: "very like #1 (350 v3) but not quite the equal".
The price of the new EP350 v3 is $758.
Regards,
