To answer a few questions;

I do have a newer EP500 (Purchased in the last two months)

I know I should do the subwoofer crawl, but my placement options are extremely limited, so I didn't bother. My house is not very ideal at all for audio.

As far as the gain is concerned, I had the volume turned almost all the way up and it was barely hitting. That's why I wanted it a little louder. I think I have it at a little more than 3/4 of the way up.

This is my witty signature.