Hi,

I have a question about my EP600. In late March I had the EP600 and a number of other Axiom speakers installed in my new home theater room. The sub is fantastic, however from day one I have noticed the woofer cone rattles tremendously even when I don't have the sub volume turned up very high. It's very distracting and I wasn't expecting that kind of noise to come from this subwoofer. The rattling is not coming from the closet doors or any wall fixtures; it's coming from the sub. Should it be doing this? Like I said, it's very distracting during movies, and it takes the enjoyment out of utilizing the full power of the sub. All of the EP600 reviews I have read in the past led me to believe that the reviewers didn't hear any distortion or port noise during their rigorous audio tests.

Does anyone have any advice? Is this common? I'm not an audio techie so I don't know what to do at this point. I'm hoping that the sub is just breaking itself in, or maybe something needs to be recalibrated. Any advice would be great appreciated because I really want to enjoy this sub to the fullest.

Nick

It is not normal for any rattles to be occuring, unless you have a loose screw or the port is rattling.

Are you sure your not running the sub/receiver levels (volulme) to HOT? Have you calibrated the levels to match your other speakers? Many people think they have to crank up these levels.

With my receiver SUB level at about -1dB, my volume on the sub is very very low, like around 6-7 o'clock. With these settings I am at about 75dB SPL from the listening position using the Radio Shack SPL meter.

I use a trim of FLAT and Bypass on the crossover.

Randy

ps: if you've had the sub this long, have you called Axiom?

Also, how do you have the other knobs set on the back of the sub?

Well, I guess it's good to know that the noise isn't normal. No, as far as I know there is nothing loose. The sub is constructed extremely well and I haven't noticed anything loose internally.

I honestly can't tell you what levels I have it at. I had a friend of mine who works for Tweeter come and install all of my A/V equipment, and he did all of the calibrations. Unforunately, my technical prowess only extends as far as turning the receiver off and on, lol, which means when something like this comes up I don't have a clue.

I'll give Axiom's tech support a call soon. Thanks.

Nick

you should be able to look on the back of the sub and tell us how you have the volume (gain), trim, crossover, etc. set. This really is not rocket science.

Then, you should be able to go into the "speaker" setup menu in your receiver and tell us how you have the dB levels, and crossover, etc. set as well.

Axiom will just ask you the same questions....Randy

Did you install the feet on the sub? Seriously. If you don't those tiny holes will make awful noises.

Nick,

Is it "rattling" when you're not playing any music? What you may be hearing is hum coming either from your power outlet or your sub cable from your amp. If the rattling goes away when you remove the sub cable, then your sub cable is "noisy". If the rattling goes away when you plug it into an outlet that is on a different circuit than the one you are using now, then you have noise on the outlet.

I had this happen to me. I pulled the driver and found that the top voice coil lead was tapping against the driver. I just took some tape and secured the leads to the driver. No more vibration noise. Be careful if you do decide to pull out the driver. It’s an extremely tight fit and you will have to pry the driver off the case. It’s real easy to damage the MDF if you’re not careful.

sirquack,

I checked the back. Here's what I found...

Volume level = 7 O'clock
Phase = O
Crossover = 80
Trim was set on "Remote"

On my receiver the sub speaker db was set at the initial setting of 0.

Nick

Crossover should normally be on "Bypass" as I'm guessing he set the crossover for the sub in the receiver to 80hz with your other speakers set to "small". You normally let the receiver manage the crossover.

The trim should NOT be on remote, it should be either Flat (most common), Half, or Full. If you read your manual it discusses each option. Generally, Flat is for the best flat response, however, some people with smaller rooms have used Half or Full.

You should invest in a cheap Radio Shack SPL meter, so you can make sure your speakers are calibrated to 75dB.

Randy

Here is from the manual:

TRIM: Set this to FLAT for normal subwoofer operation in a large room. The subwoofer will reproduce deep bass at normal levels from the movie soundtrack or music sources. The LOAD setting is for accessing the internal microprocessor. Do not use this setting as it will turn off the sub output and turn the light amber. The REMOTE setting is for operation with future Axiom remote controlled products that enables remote-control adjustment of subwoofer levels. If you are in a medium or small room you should experiment with Half and Full to compensate for room loading. Setting the TRIM to Half will partially increase frequencies above 33 Hz and Full will greatly increase frequencies above 33 Hz. This may be necessary to overcome room loading or boundary effect (too much low bass).

CROSSOVER: if you are using the Bass Management crossover menu settings in your A/V receiver or processor, turn this control to “BYPASS” to eliminate the EP500 or EP600 internal crossover from the circuit.

Also, I hope he used a Sub coaxial cable form the receiver to the sub, and not speaker wire?

Nick, welcome. It may not affect the problem that you've described, but as Randy pointed out, two of your settings should be changed: set the crossover to Bypass and use one of the trim settings other than remote. Half or even Full might be best unless your room is very large.

Running that sub "too hot" or even "full out" won't create the rattle you describe. I vouch from experience.
Something else is wrong.

One time, I replaced the front grill upside down. That put two of the pegs directly in contact with the woofer, and the rattle was terrible. I was horrified at the sight when I took the grill off. Thank goodness there was no damage to the cone or surround.

I had the same thing with my Ep500, I replaced the woofer and problem solved.