Hi Kids,

OK - Am still as mental for my M80s as I was Day One - can't get any real (read honey-do) work done anymore. So it goes



Considering expanding the sound a bit with a sub. Couple of questions:


1) Has anyone set up an HK 3480 to run a sub? There is a line out to use with a powered sub. Pretty minimal control, it seems.
2) Will placing a sub too close to the CD player cause problems (eg, sub-sonic vibration leads to tracking probs/jitter etc)?
3) Care to recommend the minimum sub to play nicely with M80's? Not using it for HT - strictly 2 Channel (2CH+SW) audio/SACD. I am not interested in replicating Thunder such that God loses the contest. I want something musical - happy to flesh out DSOTM as well as Modern Cool. FWIW, I am not at all unhappy with the spectrum of the M80s 'as is' - but am thinking a well balanced sub might be a nice addition.

My listening room is set up such that the M80's are 12" (to rear of speaker) from the wall and 9 feet (on center) apart. My chair sits 9 feet from each at the apex of an equilateral triangle. The walls behind the speaker and behind my chair are 12 feet apart. Ceiling is vaulted about 13 feet high at its peak.The Audio components sit exactly between the speakers. The sub will have to sit just to the Right or Left of the 28" component stand.

Hope this finds you all immersed in beautiful sound! & Thanks!

I don't think there is a compelling reason NOT to add a sub.

It would probably help with the 20-40Hz range measurably - particularly the lower harmonics from acoustic bass, for example.

Since you are interested in music and NOT HT, I might lean towards a sealed rather than ported sub. You lose the possibility of the very deepest frequencies, but probably attain some speed and control in the process.

I was very intrigued by this Carver at onecall for $449. I damn near bought it even though I have a SVS PB12-ISD. Obviously, I don't know your budget for a sub. I don't think you could go wrong with the Axiom EP-500 or EP-600; even though they are ported, the DSP is apparently amazing. Also of interest might be the sealed models from AV123 and Adire Audio.

Unless your sub is actually making the CD player SKIP, I wouldn't worry about it. It's all 1's and 0's; either the player is tracking or it's not.

I don't think you should worry about "control"; anything you buy will likely have level and crossover settings on the subwoofer panel, so lack of bass management on the 3480 shouldn't really be an issue.

As far as placement goes, remember that even 6-12" relative to the walls can make a profound difference to your listening position. If you can get a little wiggle room, it might make all the difference. Of course, it's easier to get wiggle room with a smaller form factor.

I dig your message very much. Peace.

Hi JazZed,

You probably read on the Axiom board how people who were exclusively movie buffs started adding music to their menu once they introduced Axiom speakers to their system. I strongly encourage you to add one Axiom EP500 subwoofer and even two if your budget allows you to do so; it will have a similar effect. As much as you love and enjoy your Axiom M80 adding subwoofer(s) will increase your pleasure and satisfaction by a few notches; something that you might think impossible.

Believe me because I’m driving M80s with a pair of Axiom EP500 subwoofers. The subwoofers are independently feed from the left and right main outputs of my receiver not the subwoofer output. On the subs, I have the crossover set at 60Hz and the volume level is very low. Do not be afraid to experiment with different settings and stick with the one you love most.

How does it sound ? The bass is so smooth, even and gripping ! There is no way you will be going back. Totally INTOXICATING !!!

Jc
Axiom Audio expert

Thanks guys. Looks like I'll go EP500. Mrs. JazZed will be happy I can match finishes with the M80s.
So, Jc, and please forgive my ignorance, I gather from your post that I can run either bare wire or spades from the HK 3480 Main Speaker Outs (which are currently driving my M80s) to the EP500 High Level Inputs and then banana plug my M80s into these same High Level Input jacks (essentially pig-tailing the speaker connection)?
And by doing so I can utilize the EP500's on-board Crossover?
If so, this is great as I was concerned that the HK was going to limit my ability to fine tune the sub due to its 'preset' sub out.
Hmmm - can I utilize the EP500 on-board crossover, as above, by simply running the HK Speaker 2 Outputs to the EP500 High Level Inputs - and continue to drive the M80s from Speaker 1 (Main) Outputs?

You could also run RCA's from the 3480's "subwoofer out"s to the EP500 and still use the 500's built in crossover. The 3480 does not do any filtering on the sub out signals; it just passes the full range to the RCA jacks.

cool - thanks for that, brigman.

I agree with comments above about going for HT but now I find I am listening to alot more music thanks to the Axiom Speaker set up. My personal experience when listening to music is that I use "Pure Direct" on my Yami-V2600 that just drives my 60's (no sub) IF I am sitting in the sweat spot and just enjoying the music. The sound stage is just fantastic, deep, wide and precise - and I do not miss the EP500!

However if I am moving around or we are have a few people over, nothing beats the "punch" of 7-Ch Mode with all speakers going and the EP500 moving the entire house! This mode also to me sounds better with some live recordings as the Audience ambience better presented. Unfortunatly it also works better with some current POP/Rock that don't seem to have a great sound stage but have plenty of "energy" (if that makes sence?!?!)

Quote:

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I am sitting in the sweat spot

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Ewwww.

There's upholstery cleaners that can probably help with that.