Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater EP 500 vs 350

I bet that is the problem here as well. The gain control on the EP subs are very sensitive to signal output from many high current receivers. I suggest contacting Axiom service who will likely have the amp returned for a small tweak to make the gain control less sensitive. My brother had the same issue with his EP600/Outlaw 990 recently.

How about the settings in the receiver? If he had LFE + Mains wouldn't that possibly contribute to this? Ensure the setting is just LFE. Dropping down to a 350 I don't think would make much improvement. The reviews from Sirquack has the 350's looking really impressive.

I would try to go pure direct for music which would cancel the sub. The M50's to me put out loads of bass compared to the other models. I think the mid driver on the other models even out the sound spectrum so everything just gels and nothing stands out too much.

One last thing, going from M50 to M80 should be a fairly noticeable difference in sound. With your classic rock as choice, you may have more CD's that sound better on the 50's.

Good luck.

What's $600 when one pays $2500 for the subs? Might the BFD @ ~$150 do the same job?

Didn't Ian say something though to not use sub equalization? I thought I saw it in one of his multiple sub videos.

Ascension:

I believe you are right about Ian's attitude towards sub-eq, BUT Velodyne has had this system for a few years now both as a separate unit and built-in to their top-of-the line subwoofers, and anyway, most of the room correction systems in recent AVR's don't do much for the deep bass. The SMS-1 not only covers both parametric AND graphic eq but there are many other features including much more flexible cross-over and phase adjustments along with having both automatic and manual room response calibration adjustments etc. for FLAT response and multiple programmable settings depending on the source. It gives you more opportunity to create a better blend between your sub(s)and other speakers.

It should be noted though that in Ian's video he admits the SPL meter to set level settings rolls off below 50hz so the levels won't be accurate. The SMS-1 enables you to boost or cut in those frequency ranges(provided your sub can handle it).

It is just a tool which can be adjusted for personal taste but I find it well worth the money in formulating a sound that I otherwise wouldn't be able to create without it.

As I understand Ian's views, he believes equalization with single subs does more harm than good since it only achieves desired response in a very narrow listening area at the sweet spot and usually makes matters worse by exaggerating nodes outside of that area. He does suggest using modest equalization with multiple subs since there is far less likelihood of creating new problems outside of the measurement spot.

In any event its important to remember that equalization does introduce ringing artifacts so it should be used sparingly and only to reduce peaks unless you have a very powerful amplifier.

I have them both but use neither with my quad subs. The BFD can do the same job however it does not have the graphical display of the SMS thereby making the SMS far easier to use. Also the SMS has a powerful set of tools in its menu which are useful for dialling in phase, filters etc. Its well worth the price IMO.

What are ringing artifacts? I've heard of it mentioned a few times and I'm done pretending I know what it means.

You fail at google.

I sure did.

Thanks for the link.