Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler New equipment arrivals

Just a general list of the latest equipment arrivals:

Angstrom Legatto speakers
Marantz 1550 receiver (vintage)
Logitech Harmony 890 universal remote control
Boston Acoustics A100s speakers
Cambridge Audio Azur 540r v2 receiver

Soon for shopping:
New subwoofer to replace the EP350
New integrated preamp/amp for the office to replace the H/K 380i
New amp to replace the Anthem MCA30 (it will go down to the media room to power some Axioms)

Soon to the for sale block:
Anthem TLP1 preamp
Tannoy Revolution R1s

So many things to see, to buy, sell and test.

Ok, did a quick search. Not much info on the Angstrom. I'm guessing these are small speakers to replace the Tannoys?

The Marantz I like. Vintage equipment has a certain something about it.

Question(s)--What subs are you looking at? integrated? and amp?

I'm also curious as to which subs you are considering. FYI, there is an unusually large amount of positive "buzz" about the new JL Audio Fathom 113. If the "buzz" is accurate, it seems to be quite a subwoofer in a reasonably sized package. However, for the money (around $3K, I believe) it damned will oughta be. It's not in my budget , and I am quite content with my EP500.

Angstrom speakers

I'm likely going to buy the EP500 or potentially the EP600. The 500 should be enough for the size of our room but i would have to be convinced that its sound performance exceeds the EP350 given their similar size and driver specs.

Odyssey amps

www.odysseyaudio.com

>>but i would have to be convinced that its sound performance exceeds the EP350 given their similar size and driver specs.

I have not had a chance to A/B them directly but from what I can see the two subs are completely different animals :

- different enclosure and port gives lower tuning and a lot more port output

- 500W vs. 200W means a noticeable difference in headroom

- ignoring all the other things the DSP does, the 500 and 600 benefit from a *really* smart limiter so if you overdrive it you don't get the normal awful noises, it just stops getting louder in a nice civilized way

If you overdrive an EP600, ya gets what ya deserves.

Bren R.

Well that's just it John. Aside from the DSP, the primary physical difference of the EP500 is its depth and overall weight.
The port configuration has changed as well which i can only hope has eliminated the port chuff that i still have in my EP350.
The 350 has been good except for the large bass. It works it, but just not as well as i would expect. For music it has been stellar.
I'm sure i would take the mild gamble on getting an EP500. If i were actually disappointed with something, i would be hard pressed to find a better contender for the type of bass i like to hear. I have not been impressed with the SVS tubes for music.

If you primary reason to swap subs is for music, I suggest you go with a 600 over the 500. For movies, the 500 keeps up with the 600 fairly well, but for music.....the 600 is the one you want. Musically, the 600 is heads and tails above the 500. Well, at least that was my take on it.

mdrew, to date i have found the larger subs create a sustained bass note which lingers which is why i'm not keen on the SVS tube style for music. I prefer that short, 'fast' bass sound hence my search for a smaller sub cabinet.

Every sub i've come across so far (of good quality), does an excellent job overall, but i'm not a bass buff in general. The EP350 produces enough bass for my liking in music, and enough, or perhaps a bit less for movies, so something a bit beyond the EP350 should in theory be perfect (sans the port chuff of course).

Do you have any interest in sealed subs? You won't get as much output for movies, but. . .wait, I just remembered you have a pretty big space to fill. How 'bout a pair of smaller sealed subs?

I think the Axiom 500 or 600 will work well for excellent music/ht playback. That is based only on hearsay, though, haven't heard either one in person.

>>mdrew, to date i have found the larger subs create a sustained bass note which lingers which is why i'm not keen on the SVS tube style for music. I prefer that short, 'fast' bass sound hence my search for a smaller sub cabinet

Ian talked with us a while about sub design the last time we were up at the factory. He is not a big believer in highly resonant enclosures, which I imagine is why the Axiom subs tend to be good with music.

If you look at a spectral decay plot for an SVS sub (yeah, like mine) the decay around the tune point is extremely slow, half a second or more, while the output drops off almost instantaneously at other frequencies. I think the trick with SVS subs is to make sure the tune point is lower than any musical signal you might play. All of the reviews of the 500 seem to talk a lot about how quick and musical they sound, which I take to mean "the enclosure is not very resonant but the DSP makes up for what would otherwise be a slightly rolled off low end".

From cross-indexing reviews and reviewers the 500 might not be as musical as the best of the sealed subs but it seems to be way over in the "really good" side music-wise.

I guess if I had a different sub maybe I wouldn't always turn the sub off when listening to music

I always wonder why people turned off their subs with music. Now I have a better idea of why.

Me, I've got a sealed sub that I originally bought for music. Even though I didn't know squat, it seems I made a decent choice.

I would assume that with a larger cabinet, you increase the resonance within through sheer volume.
If you a/b something like the SVS tube style sub vs. a smaller, box design, the difference in sound style is quite amazing. In general, you may not hear this as distinctly with all sorts of other sounds playing, but for music, especially the classical material, i've heard the difference. The bass note from the SVS just lingers that x amount of time longer, almost rolling into the next note. The EP350 did not.
However the SVS could handle the LOTR scenes with considerable ease whereas the EP350 fell short.

Did that listening test quite some time ago now.

>>I would assume that with a larger cabinet, you increase the resonance within through sheer volume.

I don't think so. I haven't played with the equations for years but IIRC a bigger enclosure lets you run the same tuning as a smaller enclosure but with a bigger port.

>>If you a/b something like the SVS tube style sub vs. a smaller, box design, the difference in sound style is quite amazing.

Yep. All I'm trying to say is that it's not the SIZE of the SVS that dictates the way they are tuned and sound, it's the design approach. The SVS approach happens to make good use of enclosure volume, but a big sub isn't necessarily a highly resonant one.

We need someone who designed enclosures *less* than 30 years ago to jump in here

Chess,

Don't let the size fool you. The 600 is EXTREEMLY musical. Much more than the 500, or any other home audio sub I've ever heard. PM John (jakeman) if you don't believe me and he'll give you all the techno babble that I don't care about. It hits fast, tight, hard and as loud as you could ever want....and the loud part you can dial down to where it's just a whisper more than your mains or just enough to blend.....which is the way I prefer it. If I had room for one in my great room where my two channel, Wharfedale Opus 2's reside, I'd have one there next to them. Well, the space issue and the $$$ part of it too. It'd have to be in piano black to match the Wharf's at about 3 grand. I'm too busy blowing money on video now, so this is on the back burner for a while.

Well i've got the Marantz 1550 hooked up with the new Angstroms and the little Tannoys on A and B channels.
Pics coming soon.

Another interesting a/b test (this one done sighted).

Finally have some pics of the speakers to post.
Here.

On the Angstrom, does the woofer go on top?

Nice pics. Hope the new speakers sound good.

Still dig the way the Marantz looks.

Another pic, this time of the new arrivals. The Boston A100s are the speakers, the Kenwood KR7600 is on the floor and yes, that is a new Harmony remote 890 leaning on the Bostons.
You have to love a wife that appreciates a good remote.