Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater EP400s : The Little Subwoofer That Could

I was lucky enought to borrow a pair of these small but powerful subs from the Axiom Labs on Saturday. I went back to my place near Dwight and hooked them up to the high level inputs crossed at 60hz to a pair of vintage Dynaco A-25s. I played the latest Cowboy Junkies DVD, Trinity Revisited and was amazed at the deep articulate clean, tight bass coming from such small enclosures. That 8" driver is deceiving but with the same amp as in the EP500 it really delivers the low frequencies. And they are small. Here is a shot of one on top of my EP600 back in Toronto to give you some perspective of the Axiom mini-me.



The idea is to use two or four of them to control room nodes and I can hear why those would be an effective use for them. There is a surprising amount of output from something so small. But I have taken a liking to them as stereo subwoofers in my smaller HT room where the fit like a glove right under the elephant ear speakers of my Sony 60XBR2. Their size makes them very versatile and they tuck away in places you wouldn't think.



That's Prison Break on the Sony, which has well recorded soundtracks full of LFE. Needless to say they are making a big impression with my family who like their dimunitive size and big sound. In reality they are a small version of the EP500. More impressions to come as I get used to them and move them to my larger HT.

I still can't believe those little 8" drivers can put out such low output. And in a sealed enclosure! Those are very nice. I've used multiple subs before and I really like it. Somewhat of a pain to set-up and dial in, but worth the effort. Very nice, John. Thanks for sharing.

John,

Can you please give us some comparisons to the 600?

Good to read your impressions of the EP400, John. Incidentally, following the conventions adopted by those members christened as "Frankensteins of the audio world" because of their recent experiments with combining speakers, your first picture appears to be an "EP1000"!

I wonder who that could be?

John, you now have me thinking 2 EP400s instead of 1 EP500, and you haven't even done a full review yet! I am very much looking forward to the rest of your thoughts and comparisons.

(I am so envious you live that close to them.)

Will do Mojo. I will try in the next day or so. I will be listening more for sound quality but I may just see what co-locating the pair achieves. They are meant to be separated though for smoothing room nodes in a HT so I will also set them up that way when comparing to the 600. They are excellent as a stereo sub pair for people still into 2 channel systems.

Jakewash, yes its neat being able to drop by and hang out with such friendly, talented folks. The Axiom team are some of the nicest genuine people you could meet. Its a high point of my occasional visits. I always enjoy getting up north to my place on Lake of Bays but nowadays my teenagers prefer the city on weekends.

John,

Thanks for taking your time and effort to do this comparison, I am sure the whole board is looking forward to your thoughts from your HT.

Hi John,

I know you vastly prefer multiple subs, but for those of us on a budget (and a WAF budget), can you give your impression of a single EP400 as well?

If WAF is the priority then the 400 has few rivals anywhere, though the also small sealed excellent sounding Fathom JL113 would be up there as well, but it costs 3x as much. You really can stick this small guy just about anywhere and it will be heard and not seen. The 400 sound is very detailed and tight ( I won't use the term "fast" because all the engineers I know don't like that term, but both "tight" and "fast" refer to excellent handling of abrupt loud transients). If you don't need the high output of the other EP subs, then its a great choice for small rooms or if your listening habits are at lower volumes.