Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Received my AXIOM HT 5.1 system

Received my AXIOM system (M60, EP350, VP150, QS8) 5 days ago. Since then, I have been enjoying the sounds of the system (movies and music) immensely with the exception of the subwoofer EP350. If I can rate these speakers, all my speakers are 9.8/10 except for the subwoofer which I will rate as 6/10. I have tweaked my system (receiver Denon 1804, and the EP350...max. frequency and about 3 o'clock on the SW vol). I get the bass all right, but not a deep, solid bass that I am expecting. My old Bose Accoustimas 5, in my opinion gives a much better bass. I went through the Axiom website and read the articles about improving the subwoofer sound. I also have called AXIOM tech support a couple of times, and their abvice only helped marginally.

I wish to put this question to the other owners of EP350 "how do you feel about your SW EP350?" Are you satisfied? happy? Thanks for any feedback.

Rogel (Calgary, Canada)

If you're really disappointed with it - I recommend returning it for an HSu or an SVS. The reviewer at ecoustics.com shares your opinion that the Axiom sub didn't have the house rattling bass of the other subwoofers tested at lower prices.

I have the 350, and couldn't be more pleased. I think my wife would rather me unplug it since it can be heard upstairs...

I'm not sure what a lot of the debate over different subs for HT systems is all about. To me, I've tried several and they all are adequate in my mind -- especially for movies. Subs are much more of a factor for me in my car, where I need the right "punch and foundation together for good rock CDs. To me, in cars, they have to be extremely well thought out. But in a large room...I think you just find a spot and a directional point that works for the room. I must not appreciate the sub effects in HT like others on the boards. I'm now putting mine into a semi-enclosure and just port it from there to see if it even matters to me, since it takes up floor space now, and I rather get the space back.

What exactly are you disappointed with... are they mushy, not heart pumping enough... Is it more apparent with music or with movies? Maybe you should try the other ones recommended on the board and see if it makes a diffence for you. Maybe send the 350 back and go back to the Bsoe if it fits your listening needs better? I guess first, exhaust all the positions and directionals for the room you're in.

One more thing, perhaps configure your M60s to accept more of the base load, and rely more on the low end foundations for the sub.

Rogel, good to see that you're enjoying your new speakers. Something simply has to be wrong with the sub setup; I can assure you that the Bose Bass Module(they correctly don't term it a subwoofer)isn't close to the performance of the 350 or many other true subs in the same category. It's a woofer designed to cover the 50-200Hz area which the tiny Bose cubes don't handle. I wonder if possibly you've become used to an unnaturally elevated response in that upper-bass area, which the M60 is now handling more accurately(assuming that you have the M60s set small and a 80Hz crossover on your 1804, with the 350 crossover turned all the way up to get it out of the way). Experiment.

Rogel, another thought, which might sound strange, but it's happened a couple of times: make sure that the woofers in the M60s are actually connected; the connecting straps on the terminals have to be tight.

Greetings,
I had similar issues with an EP350. However, before you pass final judgement, make sure you have correctly calibrated it within your system and have done a "subwoofer crawl". That being said, I wound up with an Hsu STF-3. Axiom specializes in speakers and Hsu specializes in subwoofers. Your results may vary...
b.

Hi rdm,

I'm delighted you like the Axiom M60, QS8s and VP150, and, like JohnK, I'm positive you have something amiss in your setup, or that you got used to the elevated 50 Hz - 200 Hz output from the crummy Bose "bass module" (Bose is so good at making up slick marketing terms to impress and confuse consumers. . .). The EP350 should certainly be doing vastly better than a Bose.

You mentioned you have the SW volume at 3 o'clock? It should be much lower. I don't think you have enough voltage output on the Denon Sub out to drive the 35O to proper levels. Go into the Denon Bass management (or whatever Denon calls it) and increase the output level for the Sub output until you can set the EP350 so that you get plenty of extended bass with the SW volume control at about the 11:00 a.m. setting. Preset it there, and increase the Denon sub out level. That should do it.

Regards,

You mention

Ditto what John and Alan said, there must be something awry with your receiver settings.

I have a Denon receiver and an EP350. The EP350 will shake the house pretty good.

To access the onscreen display of your receiver you must have the "monitor out" jack connected to your TV. Push the "system set up" button at the bottom right on your remote, under the plastic flipper thing. Select "setting channel levels". To set the sub level you have to run the test tones for all of the speakers. When it gets to the sub, turn the thing all the way up and then adjust the subs output by hand at the back of the EP350.
Good Luck.

Alan,
Here is the setting of my Denon AVR 1804 (90Wx6), which I believe is the optimum at present:
- M60's set to "small"; VP150 & QS8's also "small"
- Test tone (signal management system?): has a range from
-12 to +12.
*LR set at +1
*C set at +1
*Surround LR set at +1
*SW set at +12 (max)
- The Subwoofer back panel: Frequency set at max; and Vol knob set at 11 o'clock.
The above settings improved the bass output a little bit, but still not a clean nor strong as I want it to be. I am looking for a "chest thumping" bass. This is the reason why I ordered the top of the lime EP350.

Is there anymore I can do? I am willing to try anything. And, thanks for everyone's advice. This forum is a great place to learn new things.

Rogel (Calgary, Canada)

Hello RDM,

Hope you are well. I am thinking about this, and am wondering if you have dynamic compression enabled. Dynamic compression is an option in some DVD players, and some AV receivers that is used for night time operation, so you don't disturb your neighbors, it reduces the bass and the musical peaks while preserving the midrange clarity so you can still understand dialogue. I am not familiar with the Denon receiver but you may want to check into this.

Later,

TonyM