Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Subwoofers

I never ever hear anyone talk about the distortion the subwoofer DSP injects into the music. And if that is true, which I am sure it is, I would have thought that everyone would be buying passive subs. Am I missing something fundamental?

I just thought of the obvious answer. Subs take a lot of power, so it's going to suck it out of your amp, or you're going to have to provide the the sub with what it wants.

Just the same, do you see specs published on the speaker's integrated power supply, the same way you would on an amp?

When a band, or orchestra, or vocalist makes a recording, the music generated must go through a mic, preamp/amp, mixer, and some kind of encoding. It then gets pressed, and when you listen to it, it passes through CD player, preamp, amp, speakers, and sub if you have one.

The recording stage is a mess of a lot of wires criss-crossing, and most of the electronic equipment contains a lot of op-amps, which is a no-no for the purist. Finally, the speaker is the greatest source of distortion, and the sub probably even worse. So why does debate on these subjects usually involve the criticism of one component, when clearly the rest of your system has contributed considerably more distortion.

I think I'm going to have to start some serious auditioning. Every sub I've ever heard ruins the music I'm listening to. I have a pair of M60's, and they are a delight to listen to at all volumes, including excessively high volumes. Add a sub, and the experience is ruined, which begs the question: Do all these audio places have their subs set up right, or are subs putting out distorted crap, which people have been trained to accept as good.
This has been my experience. I am not claiming subs are crap, but everyone that I have ever heard sure sounds like it. And if these audio guys are trying to sell product, you'd think the theater room would be set up right, wouldn't you.

Hi Mark: 185 Watts vs 300 Watts, is only 2 dB.

What subs are you auditioning? And yes most places set up the subs way too hot to emphasize the pound which is what the general public seems to expect from a sub.

The EP400 is an absolute delight for music, it is not overpowering and blends seemlessly withe M80s. I would bet it would work just as well for the M60s.

You may just need 2 subs, one for music and one for HT. The EP400 just doesn't have enough air movement to shake the house for HT but just fills in the lower end when listening to music.

While I was searching for my first sub, I was given a PSW 505.

I agree with Jakewash that general public is looking for the big boom when shopping. You mentioned above that the subs you're listening to are in theater rooms, so most likely they're set up for movies and are running hot to "show off".

Have you been able to tweak and play with the subs at these stores? Adjusting the volume/gain on the subs amp shoud help. Which models have you listened to and have you found a shop that will let you demo the sub at your house or that has a liberal return policy?

I've been very happy with my HSU whether its set up to blend or if I want to make it to stand out a little with some bass heavy music like rap. One of the other Axiom subs that has been mentioned to be really good with music is the EP175 I believe.

I agree that when you're dealing with speakers and subs, you really need to bring them into your own environment, calibrate them and assess at your leisure.

I don't think I ever said the sub was in a theatre room. Currently, it's in my bedroom, and that's where they will stay until the kids move out. There are no stores around me that carry these subs.
I have a friend in Toronto who has the same amp & sub. He says his works fine. Maybe I'm expecting these subs to do something that it can't. It's also peculiar they appear to work when connected to the LFE input. But when I use this input, it sounds like all music is being sent out, not just the bass.

Hi Hay: Sorry, I misunderstood what you were saying. None of these stores seem to carry the Polk. The professional stores (as opposed to the Big Box stores) will probably allow you to fiddle with the settings of what they have setup, but I've never tried that.
I am now starting to get the feeling that I have expectations of a sub that a sub can't supply. I think I expect the sub bass to be as clean as the M60's playing back the whole spectrum of music.
When I turn off my sub, I'm just listening to the M60's. They are a delight to listen to. When the subs are turned on again, all the music from the sub sounds poor, and pollutes the M60's. But then again, maybe crap is what the people want.