Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners EP500 -vs- HSU

Hi, I haven't posted in looonnng time. It's been a long couple of years...divorce, move, new job, all sorts of stuff. Anyway, I never got around to buying any HT gear after all my enjoyable time here, but now that life has finally settled back down I'd like to try again.

I'm impressed with all I've read about the EP500 - when I was getting serious before I'd pretty much decided to go with an HSU sub. Obviously they're still a great value, and this is a big upgrade from those.

My concern is I'm living in an old 4 unit apartment building. I'm in the upper left apartment and the sound proofing isn't great. My living room also isn't very big (11x12). Will the EP500 blow out my neighbors? As great as it would be to have an immersive experience, if I live in fear of upsetting my neighbors it won't be all that enjoyable. On the other hand, I like the idea of getting the gear I want, not being limited by where I happen to live right now.

In the carryover time I purchased an Onkyo HTIB, and although it was regarded as a pretty nice solution, I felt pretty underwhelmed. I'm afraid to imagine what anything worse sounded like. I enjoy movies and music enough that I want something that I can really appreciate how much better the experience is.

Will something from HSU coupled with axiom speakers do that? Or should I think about the EP500? Or is having an EP500 risking a visit from the police?

This is a bit long winded, sorry about that. Happy to be back and see a few familiar faces...

Nick

Woo. The only place I've heard an EP500 was in a room, about 12x12 (maybe). It was... impressive, to say the least.

Frankly, either a Hsu or an EP500 with Axiom speakers would be great, and a massive improvement over any HTIB system. As long as you calibrate the EP500 properly, I don't think it would be an issue, and you might want to go that route if you're looking to the future. But again, Hsu makes some nice subs.

Speak to one of the Axiom specialists. They will probably point you to an EP350. Depending on the height of your ceilings, anything less than 2500 cu ft (H*W*D) would suffice for a sub smaller than the EP500. There would be less volume to fill. However, if you plan to eventually move and set up in a larger room, go for the larger sub and adjust volume accordingly

So I could adjust the volume without losing the impact? It's good to know that whatever I come up with will be an improvement over my current setup. I knew it was a night and day difference, but I still expected some amount of "wow" factor from the Onkyo solution. There really wasn't any.

Nick

I will be in a 16 x 14 room with a shade under 1800ft3.

I am getting the EP500 because i want LOW response, i could care less if the gain will be at 1/8th!

-Hutz

Nick, glad that your back.

I tell you, most subs may cause issues in an apartment environment. Heck my m60 mains put out killer bass that can sometimes be confused for sub LFE. You can obviously play with the gain/volume of the sub channel on your receiver once you get it, but lowwwww freq's are hard to hide. Heck, there are times I can feel my hairs on my legs stand up with certain movies and my EP500. I used to own a ep350 when it was the king of the hill, and it was very respectable. Your in a tuff position being in an apartment bud....

I have the 500 in a room in the basement of my house that is 24 x 10.5 with 7.5 ceiling. My gain is set very very low and I also have soundproofing installed in my ceiling and outerwall. It does a great job holding in the mids and highs from going upstairs, but the 500 can litterally shake my house. I have never heard any of the HSU subs. I can only talk about my axioms. Which I love. To me the 500 can put you into the action in a hurry. I would say if you really want it get it and invite the neighbors!!! HE HE. cause they will hear it and mostly feel it. When my wife has her friends upstairs they all think it must be raining outside because of the thunder they hear outside and the floor moving. Which my wife then tells them it just me downstairs watching a movie. I used to have a yamaha yht 21 htib system before I got the system I have now. UHHH there isn't a comparison. The subs that come with HTIB's can't even be compared with what you get from the 500. In all honesty if I were you and you don't see yourself living in an apartment much longer. I would go with what I wanted and play nice with the neighbors until I could afford the house thing, but if you never see yourself living anywhere else than where you are now I think the 500 would not make you many friends. It has that much kick to it.

Hey, Nick. Welcome back.

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So I could adjust the volume without losing the impact?

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Probably not.

Irritating your neighbors is going to be a function of how judicious and considerate you are with the overall system volume, not the brand or model. Whether you get a Hsu, SVS, Axiom or whatever other capable sub you are considering, you're going to have the capacity to balance our your enjoyment with your neighbors displeasure. Differentiation between models will allow you to play louder in bigger spaces, but in that size room, any of the choices you mention are going to be great.

I think it just depends on your long term subwoofer strategy. If you want to "future proof" this purchase, spend a little more money now, so that - if you move to a bigger and/or more private space - you'll still have requisite capacity. If you're going to be in smallish, multi-unit spaces for the foreseeable future, just get an EP350, LFM-2, STF-2 or PB10-NSD and spend your money on other things you enjoy.

The HSU VTF3-MKII will hold its own and you will be happy with it but, if you have the funds and want to match all speakers make/finish then go for the EP500. There is also a new HSU HO but I have no experience with it.

I reluctantly returned my EP500 as at the time I could not get it dialed in well for music with my previous receiver (H/K AVR110) and room location. I had pre-wired for sub at the back of my room. Which worked out great with the HSU as the DR. himself recommends placing the sub behind your sofa and in my case/room back middle of the room.

For movies the EP500 was incredible, but I could not warrant it for just that. I wish I would have hanged on to it though as I ended up upgrading my receiver a year or so later. Of course, with the cost savings of the HSU it helped finance the new receiver