I purchased the Epic 80 home theater system with the EP600 back in October. The system works perfect for my needs EXCEPT for the EP600. Since day one I had a popping nose whenever I turned the sub volume past the 1 or 2 o’clock position. The popping would occur during extreme bass soundtracks on movies. I would assume it occurs during music playback as well but haven't tested it.
Over the course of three months I have been in contact with Axiom to fix this problem. Here is what we tried:
1. Replaced the speaker. (Didn’t work)
2. Replaced the amplifier. (Didn’t work)
Now, after replacing everything in the speaker cabinet they discovered that there was a problem in their software that controls the sub amplifier. (Really? Do other EP600 owners know this?)
So now what?
3. Replaced the amplifier again with a "fixed" amplifier but this time I had to remove and reinstall the speaker with it. (Didn’t work completely)
Result? I still had popping but not nearly as frequent.
So now what?
Axiom worked out a good deal with me to upgrade to the EP800 so here I give them credit. This was my suggestion because I am so impressed with their other products and believe this problem is just an anomaly with the EP600. I will receive my EP800 in a few days and look forward to a non-popping sub.
I'm wondering why Axiom hasn’t had a flood of complaints from EP600 owners. I know that I can't be the first guy to turn the sub volume past 1 or 2 o’clock and listen to deep bass movie soundtracks. The Axiom website states: "Crank it up - XLF makes the EP600 unbreakable!" and “The Intelligent DSP wants things to go smoothly all the time - no bumps in the road." And what about the glowing reviews? Don't the reviewers put the speakers through rigorous testing? I checked out the frequency response chart on
www.audioholics.com and apparently everything works great however in reality it does not. I must be special because no one else has discovered this problem or they have not reported it. How long has this sub been tested and sold anyway? Another thing, I purchased the recommended AV receiver for this specific speaker system and all wiring and components are new. I even had everything professionally installed through Axiom's recommended installer in my area.
I'm VERY happy with the rest of my system and Axiom has provided excellent support through this ordeal (thanks Brent and JC) but I cannot recommend the EP600 to anyone at this time. I just don't think they have all the bugs worked out yet. Hopefully the EP800 is up to the task.
Sincerely,
Da-Drifter
