Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Axiom Subwoofers vs other brands. Need compact.

I am starting to research which subwoofer to get along with my M5HP onwalls and VP100 OW for my small space i have my home theater in. Its roughly a 9x10 ft space. However, one side of the space does open up into a larger room in my basement so its not a truly closed 9x10 space. The M5s arent pointed out towards the open part so the sound reflects well in the space as it is and sound great.

I am specifically looking for a sub in compact package. I have been considering the EP-125 by axiom as its smaller, but I am also looking at the SVS micro 3000. I am considering the SVS as it takes up very little space, comes with metal grills over the dual subs, which to me is a great feature as i have two dogs that like to play with balls on the ground. The axiom would fit better looks wise, but has a cloth grill. The SVS would not look out of place. I like the SVS by how small it is.

Just wondering if any of you have any experience with SVS subs vs Axiom and if it came down to it what your thoughts would be.

Thank you.

I have owned both and messed with both in a few rooms. If you are looking for value vs output go with SVS. If you are looking for sound quality and tunability go Axiom. Honestly, I would just buy an Axiom EP500 and never look back. Holy cow do they rock for what they are. But I am biased and push them on virtually all my installs. Owners are never let down though. Usually get a "holy shit" out of them. Then grins.

If you do go with Axiom be sure to order with rubber feet and place on carpet. I can make Axiom subs make bad noises on hardwood floors or spiked through carpet at low frequencies and high spl. There is a sympathetic frequency that causes a hammering effect and the floor to rubber feet interface being somewhat springy like carpet cancels this issue. Tip from the trenches. I don't blame the subs... High spl at low freq= kinetic energy.

Thanks for the input. If i had the room and wanted to spend the money on that I would. That thing is basically the size of a small end table, but not as large as other subs I've seen. Im trying to stay small with the woofer size.

For reference the entire first floor of my house is 800 Sqft and the basement is about 450ish. I am not a huge fan of clutter and like to keep things compact if possible.

I don't have experience with the SVS but judging by the specs, it goes lower and louder than the 125 by a good margin. With your room gain, you won't miss too much in movies. And since movies are what you mostly listen to, the SVS should serve you well.

I have the 125 (actually two) and for music in my 1920 cu ft living room, I prefer it over my 500, 600 and 800. Different story though in my 4200 cu ft main room.

Good tip about the wood, Trevor.

Edit: I am assuming Eblack your hearing is "good" down to 20Hz. If not, you will need the 500. Note how the 500 is flat down to 20Hz. The SVS is flat down to 30Hz. If you're deaf down low, the 500 will give you a lot of boost right where you need it.

Edit again: As long as your hearing is good, AND you don't have mattresses lining your walls :), the SVS should be good.

Andrew Welker did a video talking about kilowatt micro subs, and at 8:15 in, he comments that an EP125 likely outperforms one (and saving a whack full of money). If a loudspeaker designer says it, I'm more inclined to take his advice than myself browsing through brochures.

https://youtu.be/-N72-xoRImc

Andrew didn't specifically compare the 125 to the SVS 3000 micro in his video.

A preponderance of the specifications of the 125 vs the SVS 3000 micro strongly suggests the SVS is the heavier hitter. The 125 is down at 60dB at 20Hz while the SVS is at 72. That 12dB sounds more than twice as loud.

The SVS is not defeating physics. It is using dual 8", active drivers powered by 1250 peak W amps to achieve the stated performance. This is in contrast to the single 8" driver powered by 550 peak W of the 125.

Of course it's impossible to know which one sounds better from these specs alone. Or to know which one is more reliable. And SVS doesn't have the loyalty program Axiom customers enjoy. The micro is also 70% more money.

These factors aside, Eblack is interested mostly in movies so it's pretty hard to recommend the 125.

P.S. It's not clear to me at what SPL the 3000 micro compresses. Eblack, you'll want to ask SVS for the frequency response curves at various SPLs.

P.P.S. Eblack, maybe you can negotiate a deal with both manufacturers to buy both, try and return the one that doesn't work for you.

The 3000 would eat the 125 for lunch. And it should. It costs way more.

In a real room the 125 dives after 40hz. Just replaced two for an owner that upped to dual 500s. The owner thought with his wallet initially and ended up wasting money…. Oh well.

In a small bedroom or desktop setup 125 would be ok. Movies? Ehhhh….

I think the EP500 is not much bigger practically than the footprint of the smaller subs. Taller moreso.

I can't recommend the 125 for movies unless those movies are bandwidth-limited. Is OTA or cable TV limited on the audio side? I ask because I haven't watched in over 30 years.

I am sure Andrew optimized the v4 sub designs within the constraints he was given.

BTW, there is always the EP400.

Disc. With m22.