Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners EP350 vs. EP500

As some of you know, I was having problems with my EP350 since the stand-by circuit kept cutting out the sub. So after much discussion and questions, I ordered up a new and improved EP500 with the mute circuit disabled. As expected, I can play music at whisper quiet volumes (just for testing of course) and the sub keeps on going. But is that all you get for $600??? I sure hope not

To start things off, I must say that neither of these subs were positioned ideally. The best place in my small room is front and center between the mains. During my testing, I put the two subs side by side straddling the 'sweet spot'. There isn't really anywhere else I could put them, so it had to do. As expected, both subs were calibrated to the same volume prior to any testing using the Yamaha test tones.

The first thing I noticed between the two subs is extension. The 500 was by far the winner in this category. In music, every now and then there is a nice deep bass drum that literally shakes you. You can't really hear it, but your whole body can 'feel' that its there. With the 350, these low 'thuds' were simply not there. The bass drum was very clearly played, but no shaking effect. A definate plus in the "WOW" effect for the 500. For movies, the best example I found was the Finding Nemo "Darla Tap" scene. From the first time I heard this a month ago with the EP350, I knew something was lacking. After hearing bass fanatics raving about this scene as the 'ultimate' deep bass, I was left disappointed. I knew the culprit of this was either the over-hyped rumor or the sub, and in this case it was definately the sub. When I got the 500, I played the 350 first to get a feel for what it sounded like before, and set the volume at a decently loud level. Again, I was left a little disappoined, so I switched subs in hopes of more impressive bass. As soon as I started the scene again, I instantly dove for the remote. Ceiling tiles were shaking, stuff on my desk was rattling, and I jumped pretty good too... That's more like it!!! I finally heard the scene the way the rumors described it. I'm impressed how much the cone gets moving on scenes like this, but its supposedly safe with the DSP constantly protecting against overdriving it. Other bassy scenes showed similar improvements, but not as significant as this one.

Next up, clairity. Suprizingly, there was very little difference between the two that I could notice in the mid to upper bass. The 500 did seem to have clearer low bass, which is likely due to its greater extension. I did a few blind tests with very inconclusive results. It seems that with my poor setup and untrained ear (haven't listened to a whole lot of good subs), the two sounded almost the same. The thing that gave it away in most cases was a deep bass note which was noticibly louder on the 500. I'm guessing that better sub placement and some bass treatment would help bring out any other differences between the two (both of which I couldn't do).

Was the upgrade worth $600? Depends who you ask since I have no idea how to put a price on sound quality. I'm happy I did. I'm no longer struggling just to keep it turned on, and I am really starting to love that real deep bass that used to hide in music. It should keep upgraditis out of my way for a long time. Actually, I doubt I'll ever 'replace' it, but possibly add another one if I decide to move the theater into a huge room, but it would have to be REALLY big to 'need' another one (from what I've heard). For the time being (and for quite some time to come), I'm going to continue to enjoy this excellent system that I have now.


One more thing, I know everyone here likes pics . Here's a few of the two subs to show their difference in size and appearance. The center was placed there only temporarily, so that green mat showing isn't normal. I know it looks bad . The last two are the final setup.

I can't get over how nice that high gloss cherry finish is. Very nice, Jason!

I was going to say the same thing. Gorgeous finish! And welcome to the EP500 club.

LOL! Sean, I was looking at the photos and thinking the exact same thing.

Love the look of those.

Is there any special dampening effect of using those particular M22 stands?

Nice review Jason,

Every day I am more happy that I ordered the EP500...But last night I almost went insane thinking about 3 more weeks of waiting.

I love your glossy look, very sexaaay!

Jason, Great review and pics. Up till now I've been happy with my M22s, EP350 and HTR5960. The same basic setup that you had. Now you've got me thinking. What if? ...

Nice review, I'm also really impressed with the finish on the sub and speakers, I wish that offer had been around when I purchased mine.

I'm very glad to hear you were able to resolve the auto off/mute issue from your earlier post. Also, It certainly doesn't hurt to be more than happy with the bass response.

Very nice looking speakers. I know they sound as good as they look.

If you have the room, you may want to try bringing the M22s out more so they are near or equal to the fronts of the EP500 and VP100. I'm thinking the front soundstage may be clearer that way with less reflections off of the side of the sub. If you decide to try this, just make sure to adjust for the change in your receiver's speaker distance setup. If you find it doesn't make a difference, then nevermind.

I too, am loving that high gloss, wish I could afford to sell all mine and start over with that. You really have me thinking about the 500 now, very nice review.

Thanks you to everyone for their comments. I agree that the speakers look amazing and I'm happy I went with the High gloss instead of just the Boston Cherry.

Bugbitten: The stands may have some inherit damping properties, but I haven't done any testing thus far. The significant downside is that their cost greatly outweighs the speakers, since that's about $12,000 of schooling right there. I hope all that hard work pays off and gives me a nice coherent soundstage across the front. Now the surrounds are much higher, so those stands may take awhile to assemble...

Hutzal: Good luck with the 3 week wait. I know I was hurting pretty bad at the start and end of the wait period, but during the middle portion I was busy assembling my speaker stands.

Screefer: If you have extra money buring a hole in your pocket, I'd say go for it. If not, the EP350 is by no means a poor sub. The sound was very similar in most cases, just a lack of low, bone-shaking bass. The choice is up to you... or your significant other if you're lucky enough to have one holding your chain (to think I could have one of those in a few years... scary )

dllewel: That sounds like a great suggestion, but I'm not sure if I could keep them that way. My computer desk it just a few inches away from my left main as is and the chair would likely hit the left main if it were as far out as the center. The right main has a door right beside it that swings wide enough to hit it where it is now, so it could only open about half way if the right main were out to the center. Due to these limitations, what would you recommend having as a minimum distance from the wall to sound their best? I had them nice and close for extra bass response so that when my EP350 cut out, the bass from the fronts 'sort of' took its place until it turned back on (the receiver was sending bass to both sub and fronts). With the new sub, this no longer required and I can reposition them to get the best sound instead of just bass. Suggestions are welcome from everyone.


I got to watch the first half of "Master and Commander" last night (then I went to work on those speaker stands again ). The first part where the enemy ship shows up and lets all hell loose really came out amazing. Splintering wood everywhere, nice boomy cannon fire, it sounded great. I think this is a great scene to give the surrounds a good workout. Hopefully I'll get to finish it off tonight, otherwise in the next few days (again, hopefully).