Eagerly awaiting user impressions of the new dual speaker EP800.

No, the last word is that they're not shipping until after the holidays. I'm eagerly awaiting my own impressions.

Eagerly awaiting impressions of four EP800s in the same system.

Hopefully your eagerness lasts awhile if that's what you're waiting for... Unless you're saying you ordered four of your own?

Maybe Ian will post his own unbiased impressions of four in the same room.

Someone could have a lot of fun at the end of the production line with all those EP800s lined up in a row... maybe put on DSOTM and try to shake the snow off the factory roof.

maybe put on DSOTM and try to shake the snow off the factory roof.

Fixed.

Would have to wait 'til we get moved and have the space for it, and the required roof reinforcements. One EP600 is plenty punishing for now.

As awesome as I can imagine that would be, I'm sure you'll be hard pressed to ever find anyone other than an Axiom employee, who would actually drop nine grand on bass in an Axiom set-up. Because although there are those here with multipul subs, that's just a heck of a lot of loot to spend just on bass. If I had that kind of dough kicking around I would definately have to take the Paradigm Signature S8's for a spin!

At risk of being bannished from this forum, I'm of the opinion that there is ALWAYS something bigger and better out there, if you have the coin. In my research, Axiom seems to be the best product out there on the budget I'm on. But if I had 9 G's to drop on bass, I'd probably be looking at a different level of loudspeaker as well.

Of course, once I finally do take the plunge and actually experience Axiom in my own home, I may have a different outlook!

But you can't forget the photo...



They look like Daleks coming for us!

This photo brings up a very valid point, who has that kind of room? My HT room is 24 x 24, and still it would be a burden to fit all of that in there without seriously cramping things. I would probably more inclined to go try out a couple of svelt Paradigm Seismic 12's that pump out an impressive 1500 watts of RMS and 4500 peak power in a $1600 dollar package. But that's just me. Again, no disrespect to the Axiom affictionardo's in the house, I guess I'm just not a true believer yet.

When the EP800 arrives and I get my hair blown back by the whole 'Axiom Experience'... I will post my appologies, and beg for your forgiveness.

Who has that kind of room? Well, not me.. I picture that Alan's house has 20 subs per room or something.

Which of the Axiom subs have you compared with the Paradigms?

With Reference to the Paradigm Seismic 12's and other compact, high power subs, I have never really heard one that I could say was worth anywhere near the money they are asking. Like comparing bookshelf speakers to full range floor standing speakers, if you want the deeper bass, you can't escape the laws of physics, you still need the bigger box.

I've been really happy with my single 600. I haven't really heard anything at retail that compares. A friend has one of those giant SVSound trashcan models that was fairly impressive too, but most of what I've heard around town (including most of the actual theaters in the Edwards chain) just don't have the force of the EP600.

I like how so many people think we're on the kool aid around here. The sound is the kool aid!

Well you are certainly ahead of me in the comparison aspect of this conversation my friend, as I have yet to hear ANYTHING out of Axiom or Paradigm in real life. Any and all of the opinions I have about either company comes strictly from info I've come across on the web. Some of that has come from this site, some from audio critic reviews. And the Paradigm's seem to do very well in the critic reviews indeed.

On this site I had many people recommend that I go with two EP500's over a single EP800. And the EP500 is about the same size as the Paradigm Seizmic 12. Only difference is the Paradigm has three times as much power as the EP500 for only a couple of hundred dollars more. And no I do realize that power isn't everything, but Paradigm is a very respectable company that gets very good reviews, so I presume they know how to use that power fairly effectively.

Anyhow, that's just my own personal opinion on how I might consider spending my own money if and when I ever decided to drop almost ten large on bass in my HT. That's just a whole lot to spend just on bass IMO... Heck you could buy two Paradigm Servo 25's for 8 grand. They have 15 inch woofers, and 3000 watts a piece! And reviewers have claimed they reach down to 10 hz!!!

I can only guess here, but I'd bet they would bring a pretty good fight to the table vs any subwoofer combination, from any manufacturer in that price range!

I'm just curious which model you're talking about, as I see a Signature Servo or a Signature SUB 25, but no Servo 25.

I'm sorry, it's the Signature Sub 25 that I was refering to. That seems to be their flagship subwoofer. And at $4000, I can see that they've put a lot into it!

Now the last thing I'm here to do is ruffle any feathers. I know the general populace around here has nothing but love for their Axioms and I can respect everyone's points of view. I mean no disrespect when I make blind comparisons between two products that I have no personal experience with. It could very well turn out that the EP800 could sound better & hit stronger than anything else out there that money can buy. But I highly doubt it.

So you may be asking yourself why I'm considering the Axiom's when I seem so impressed with Paradigm... well my main motivation is price. I'm looking to spend about $5000 on my speakers. And in that price range Axioms seem to rule. Now if my budget was closer to $20,000, I'd probably be looking at the Paradigms Signature series instead.

But that's not the case, so here I am. Not that I think I'll be one bit dissappointed by the Axioms, its just that I believe there are other options out there if price were no object, that's all.

You bring up some good points about the various type of subs and how to and where to spend your money, but for the record and whatever it's worth, back a few years ago I was in a store looking at the Paradigm line of subs(I have had several of their speakers and still do). I compared, what is now a legacy sub the PW2200(which I still have) and the new Paradigm "Seismic" line they were just bringing onto the market. The issue of unusually powerful amps in these "mini" type subs(seismic 12 is approx 14" square) is because of the immense amounts of power required to engage the "passive" radiators in these units that apparently are needed to, theoretically, assist in attaining as low a frequency as possible in what is a relatively smaller than usual cabinet. I ended up buying the PW2200($500 less) because the seismic 12 just couldn't handle that REAL deep bass at high output levels. Two EP500's(approx 19x15x19 in size)will give you that real DEEP bass(without distortion)let alone the EP600, that you could never attain in the seismic 12. My opinion, anyway.

You can always find ways to spend MORE money.

And just because something costs more doesn't mean that it's necessarily better. Yes, Paradigm makes good stuff. So does Axiom. And while there is a substitute for cubic inches in cars, there's not much of one when it comes to bass.

The best pie isn't exactly the biggest pie. (Tho i'd still try it)

Mmm, pie... <drools>

Pumpkin pie should be in season more often.

Yeah, but pecan always is!

Yeah, pecan is probably my favorite non-seasonal one. (toss some pecan praline ice cream on top) Pumpkin cheesecake is awesome too.

And once again we demonstrate that thread discipline is not essential to a good and useful forum

No disagreement there. I don't think anyone is arguing that the EP800 is the ultimate subwoofer with price being no object. On that note, I probably wouldn't have gone for them (or two of them, anyway) at their normal price. Thank goodness for preorder discounts. Going by the specs and the graphs, it looks like they will accomplish what I want them to at a price that won't kill me. Naturally, if I had more money, I would be looking at more expensive subs to see just how much further I could go with performance. I'm not sure how many subs I'd find that are so linear over such a wide range, though.

I learn from the masters.

No no, I'm not accusing anyone of doing such. My point was simply that I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone running 4 EP800's in their HT set-up. Because anyone with that kind of money to spend on bass is probably going to spend it a little differently... I would imagine anyway.

With that kind of cash, there are things you can do if you really want to.

Whoa... now THAT'S what I'm talking about!!!

Micah,

Honestly, most people aren't running four subwoofers. Yes, four subwoofers would have a more flat response for every seat than two. But, in most cases two would be sufficient. Or, if you just want it set up the best for a couple of seats then one is fine. For my house only my wife and I are watching movies on the system, 95% of the time. So, why go overboard spending all of this extra money on additional subwoofers for when a neighbor, some family or friends stop by to watch a movie. When I do get a dedicated room I do plan on two subs though. When that time comes, I will have the ep800 on my short list for possible candidates. The only sub that seems to come close to the performance and price is the Epik Conquest.

- Nick

Fred - very cool thread at the shack, thanks for posting. 850 lbs of sub x2? That is dedication to your hobby.

Jason

How about these subs: http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/matterhorn.htm

I wonder what "skadoosh" sounds like on that!

Probably no sound at all.. that is after the fraction of a second it would take to shatter your ear drums. Up until that point it would probably be quite loud!

I was wondering what the "built for the military" tagline was all about. Maybe for use by PsyOp SF guys?

Having been on live hand grenade ranges, received close air support/arty rounds, and demo ranges, I can assure that hearing damage is easy to get! I've felt the explosion of "mere" 500lb bombs going off during training exercises, I can't even imagine what a 2000lb bomb must feel like (the consussion that is)

I see you like to chew...

still waiting for reports, I guess nobody has one yet?

Don't let CV read this. He'll pull a Mark.

They're waiting until April 1st to tell us the truth about them.

That's right, that's when we'll learn the joke's on us, there really was never any such thing as an ep800, whereas we could have had totem beaks placed atop our m80s all this time and have just been loving the difference!

Those beaks do work, but the thing they don't tell you is that they defeat contraception, so you'd better not be handling them around the time you don't want kids.