Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler AVS

From a manufacturers point of view, I would think it is about who they are selling to. There are other things than absolute output or performance to consider when one of the decision makers is not an audiopile.

This is true ... and often true even for an Audiophile. We all have criteria which is important to us. For example, the EP-500 is about half the size of the XS30-SE.

To some, this is a huge deal. For example, the EP-500 might be better a comparison to some JL Audio sealed subs, in terms of size and performance.

I could be wrong about this, but it seems the conventional wisdom is Axiom subwoofers are more often matched in an Axiom system while companies like PSA are more geared to someone looking for the most "SPL from 20 to 80 Hz" for the buck buyer.

One thing I have noticed about Axiom buyers - one rarely sees the Axiom owner disparaging other company's products.

Craig -- I think it is probably a fair historical statement that Axiom subs are less often paired with non-Axiom speakers. In other words an Axiom sub owner has a high likelihood of also being an Axiom speaker owner, whereas there are other manufacturers known primarily for subs (for example HSU, SVS, PSA), which are more likely to be paired up with speakers of a completely different make.

I've got 2 EP-500's on the way (layaway), for reference. I also considered two PB-2000's, and have generally only heard good things about SVS subs. I don't need them to be bad in order to justify my EP-500's.

One thing that I find under-discussed with regards to Axiom subs is the analog power supply. Strange that devotees of various cults of audio purity (only 100% air-cored inductors or thou shalt be shunned and disfellowshipped, etc.) don't seem to be impressed by the pronounced benefits of this upgrade for dynamics, longevity, and elimination of switching frequency artifacts. It is important to note also that this is not a cheap upgrade, and that it is likely a substantial cost driver in the price / output specs race. In fact, the use of this part (the value of which the Axiom engineers seem to be adamant about) really undercuts the absurd claims of cheap parts / penny pinching that are sometimes circulated elsewhere. I don't know of any other mainstream sub manufacturer that does this at similar price points.

Second comment on the EP-500 is that it has now gone sealed. Although output SPL's at moderate amp power generally require ports, the argument for the new sealed design is lower distortion, more elegant filtering (driver loaded at all f's by back pressure), and (obviously) elimination of port noise. Sealed designs also generally seem to be considered faster and more musical. Andrew and Ian have also touted their limiter design, claiming that it very effectively suppresses the output of strange grunts/growls as the circuit is engaged.

Last thing -- it is sometime suggested that the steep frequency slopes on their crossovers promote time-domain ringing at the cutoff. I'm a bit skeptical of this. It would seem that more severe problems with time localization would arise from an absence of higher frequency modes as opposed lower --- and it is the high pass (at low frequencies) that is steep, not so much the low-pass (at high frequencies). Moreover, most users will probably use their own external bass management on the low-pass integration with mains. It would be interesting to see some analysis / listening tests / measurements of these issues. The comments I've made here are "top of the head", and may well be somewhat naive.

Cheers -DSQ

PS -- I'm sure most interested parties have probably seen Andrew's excellent subwoofer article at S&V here, but I'll link.

Thankfully the AVS Moderator has heeded my request & has shut down that nonsense - until the next time.

I think that the OP was a bit surprised to see what he had created. It's amazing what controversy that a couple of long-winded posters with agendas can accomplish.

On a lighter note & speaking of subs, I gave both of my pairs of Axiom subs a good workout yesterday. My 2 Channel audio only system with twin EP400s with M2s (SACDs & Tube Driven) sounded marvelous at rocking levels. Later on, my pair of EP800s shook our house to its core during the long & protracted LFE runs in The Transformers 'Age of Extinction' Blu Ray at -12 Db. Interestingly, my wife doesn't complain about the strong clean bass that the 800s produce as contrasted to our previous lesser subs that obviously struggled more...

TAM

DSQ - That was not only a terrific post, the link to Andrew's interview made for a good read.

Thank you!

I just read the S&V article - great insight on subs in general & Axiom's philosophy on designing & building subs.

Perhaps that's why they sound so darn good - to me anyway...

TAM

WARNING - I went into AVS this morning - they have been hacked big time - redirecting to other websites. Arghhhh.

Now I'm full of Malware that I can't seem to get rid of.

TAM

It's been a frustrating 4 hours. I've run a bunch of Scans - MS Security, etc & Malware Bytes. MS stuff didn't find anything but Malware Bytes found a bunch of malware & got rid of it; however, I still seem to have something going on in my Comodo Dragon Browser (a Chrome deriviative) that I updated today. For instance when I come into the Axiom Home page, I have pop up ads trying to sell me jewellry & a bunch from Crutchfield that I've never had before. I'm now in IE & am getting none of that.

What was interesting was trying to download Malware Bytes - most difficult. I was unable to do a System Restore from a couple of months ago - something wouldn't allow it.

So I'm kinda out of ideas right now. Any advice?

TAM

Interestingly I got a banner at the top of the Axiom Home Page (along with a bunch of popups) that that stated that it had detected problems my Flash Player & Java files. I did not click on the invitation to 'Fix' them; however, I went into my Browser & turned off 'Java Script'.

Anyway, all is well now so far but I don't know if not using Java will hinder my browsing in the future.

I have a feeling that this all started when I clicked on 'Update Java' at AH a couple of weeks ago that may have enabled it in my browser. AVS may have exploited that this morning. I'm scared to go in there now...

Grrrr...

TAM

I found the first glitch - I can't post with Java Script Off.

What a friggin pain...

TAM