Axiom Audio EP400 Subwoofer First Look

At the Audioholics 9th Annual State of the CE Union Event, Axiom Audio introduced and demoed their newest member of the DSP subwoofer family.  The compact high performance EP400 subwoofer delivers bass extension as deep as 17 Hz in smaller rooms such as dens or bedrooms, using a much smaller enclosure than a conventional subwoofer.

Borrowing the same DSP technology from the larger,  EP500 and EP600 subwoofers, the EP400 uses a similar powerful 500-watt internal Class D amplifier coupled to a long-throw 8-inch driver and their custom DSP algorithm to extract maximum sound pressure levels as high as 116 dB from an enclosure barely taller than Axiom's M3 bookshelf speaker.

The DSP processing found in the EP400 is a custom-designed programming algorithm that dynamically marries the driver with its digital signal over the driver's entire performance spectrum. The result is unprecedented smoothness or “linearity”, even at maximum output levels in the driver's lowest frequencies. According to Axiom Audio, its virtually impossible to overdrive an EP-series subwoofer into distortion, even at its highest volume.

According to Ian Colquhoun (President of Axiom Audio), the EP400 was produced to fill a specific need: to pack real subwoofer performance into the smallest possible enclosure.  Ian and crew demonstrated that four subs are better than one at our  9th Annual State of the CE Union Event on October 6th, 2007.  In a reasonably sized room such as the demo room they utilized (roughly 400ft^2), they were able to utilize 4 EP400's strategically located equidistant from the listening area against the midpoint locations of the 4 walls.  Using a switching device to switch between 4 EP400s and 4 EP600s located in similar areas, it was nearly impossible to hear or detect a difference.  The EP400s were playing just as low and loudly into their demo room validating their claim that the EP400 has similar extension of the EP600s when played at similar volume levels in a moderately sized room.  For those wondering how they can cram 4 giant boxed sized subs into their theater room to take advantage of even bass response in all listening positions, the EP400 may just be the answer to your problems.  We look forward to examining this new little GIANT in the near future via a formal product review.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.