Official Epik Subwoofer Thread - Page 505

The anti-mode would help more with a basic shaped out room or a more complex layout with a single Empire?

just saw that Epik is now available in Europe yet still not Canada

I'm still trying to get better sound out of my new Empire.

Just a quick overview of my entire system:
Ascend Acoustic 340 L C R
Ascend Acoustic 170 SR
Denon 789 AVR
Epik Empire Sub

I've got the Empire corner loaded (Although it is parallel to the wall, not a 45° angle to the corner). The driver firing at the wall has about 5" spacing from the cloth to the wall. About 5" on the other side is a LayZBoy recliner.

I've ran Audessey on my Denon and while the overall system sound is great I'm really not getting the "punch" that I was expecting from this new sub (I'm upgrading from a HTIB 8" sub)

If I turn up the sub it just sounds "boomy". I was under the impression that sealed subs should have more of a punch and less of a super low end. Also, everyone here is talking about pressurization of the room. I think I understand what that means from just listening to bass heavy music in my car. Honestly my car's stock 6"x9" rear speakers seem to pack more of a bass punch than the new Empire. And I'm not really feeling the "pressure" that I feel in my car or at a live concert.

Audessey set crossovers on my speakers at 40Hz. The sub was set at the lowest 80Hz. I've since turned L C R to 80Hz and the surrounds to 100Hz. I moved the sub up to 100Hz. In my AVRs settings I have the sub option as LFE+Main (So it will play the dedicated LFE channel and the crossover frequencies from the main channels). Honestly I can't tell much of a difference with the new crossover settings. I'm not using the crossover input on the sub. I've also turned the channel level on the sub up from the Audessey -7.0db to 0.0db.

My room is all very hard surfaces: 2 walls of sliding glass doors and 2 walls of stone. The room volume is about 2200cuft with a large opening to an entryway of about 700cuft.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. As of now I would like to NOT have to move the sub because it is impossible to move by yourself.

Ah, so you're the guy who designed the Stonehenge set for Spinal Tap!

shinksma

Not sure on the room height, I will have to check. Thank you for the response.

Might be a silly question in these parts but what does everyone recommend for the best sub connector cord between a new Denon AVR-4311CI and the Epik Empire?

Is this just a single RCA audio cable?

I'm all for paying for good sound quality but I'm not interested in buying a connector just because its the most expensive.

Thanks in advance.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...02&cp_id=10236

Buy the ones with the red connectors (RG6).

LOL! Love it.

Measurements in feet, not as posted in inches.

Go to Home Depot and get some furniture sliders. They allow you to effortlessly move the sub around. What do you mean you moved the sub up to 100hz? If that is the LPF of the LFE, it should be set to 120hz generally. I think your ears are used to exagerrated frequencies from your inferior prior sub. It takes a little getting used to a good sub if your ears have been trained from a "bad" sub.

You need to play around with placement options. Do the crawl test. Also, I suggest some form of an outboard EQ to tame/tailor the sub for your listening room. At very least, grab yourself an SPL meter and calibrate your whole system with test tones to around 75db and a little higher for the sub, maybe 80db for starters.

It's harder to get pressurization since your room is open to an entryway. Not impossible, just harder. You have to consider the total volume.

Where are you sitting? If you're near a wall boundary, you're most likely going to get boominess from any sub. Move away from the wall if this is the case.

The Empire also requires a slight break-in period. A few hours at least. In other words, it will sound better the longer you play it. This will not help the boominess however. This is caused by the placement of the sub in relation to the sitting position usually.

Let us know your progress.

Don

Just to be clear, ordered 1 Legend for various reasons among which is the fact that I have no idea where I'll be living in 8 months and two, I have to start somewhere. Graduate student (maybe it is true what that one poster said, only a novice would buy a Legend..hm). Current setup is basically Klipsch KG2 WO circa 1985, the center from the same lineup and a mismatch of various rear speakers. No sub...essentially a non-setup. will connect to a pio vsx-1120 . Use is 75/20/5 music&computer/videogames/movies.

I had placed an order with Epik late Monday, was supposed to ship immediately but I did not get notification of shipment for almost 48 hours later (pretty close, not immediate by definition). The shipping weight is 20lb less than they described and they have not responded to my email within a day. I'll weigh it before and after I open it if I can find a scale.

I've got no time to call during business hours and have no way to access personal email during business hours either.
Anyone with prior experience ordering from Epik without working over the phone with them? I'm not concerned just yet but clearly they aren't as established as other companies and accurate statements count for something. 20lb less then described, shipped, was a red flag to me.

Just registered on the forum to post this question, have been a lurker for years. Thoughts welcome, I'm pretty sure I'm not alone when I say I think i check the tracking number too often.

With all the limitations why didn't you look at something at a local B&M store instead of buying online from a relatively small ID business in which you have limited contact with?

Just wondering why some take such perceived risks with a good chunk of money?

I've called them once before and Chad the owner picked up almost immediately. Shipping for me from IL to NV was flawless. From what I've read through this forum, I don't think I've ever seen anyone with any shipping issues. They're a small operation and sometimes can take a while to get back to you in emails.

Those specs up there have been there for a while AFAIK. It's possible there were some design/packaging changes made after that information was posted, hence the discrepancy in the weight.

If you want faster service, you'll need to find time to call, IMHO.

Because most B&M subs blow ass in terms of bang for buck.

Even if that were true which I don't think is completely accurate, is it worth taking such a perceived risk as is the case with this person?

Lmfao.

In my opinion, yes. In many cases you will be paying double the price for less performance from a B&M sub. I'd say it's worth the gamble going with an ID sub. And thanks to constant feedback from members here we all know who are the more reputable ID companies online which stand behind their product.

The B&M stores need to make money too. And with Audio equipment, there's a pretty big mark up. Definately more bang for your buck if you can cut out that middle-man.

It's the same risk ordering anything from any online retailer except the purchases tend to be heavier and cost more to ship. This is offset somewhat in the sales tax savings.

Regardless, to each his own.

It is suppose to work in any room. The worse the room the more noticeable the changes will be.

I won't deny that ordering online from a source for the first time will usually be a risk. I'd caution everyone to look at the companies and do research. I posted here because there are plenty of others that took the same risks or may be considering it. I feel I did my homework. Soon enough I'll be able to say how it turned out.

I don't think ordering from Epik was/is a risk at all. They have a proven track record here on this forum.

I agree 100%. Ordering from Epik is one of the best subwoofer options there is not only from a product performance and quality aspect but also the customer service track-record Epik has built over the years. People need to remember that Epik is a small company and if they dont respond to an email the same day or answer the phone in person dont panic. Chad is a gentleman and one hell of a sub designer; if you speak with him you'll see what I mean.

Ok, I just got the vibe that you didn't and then, after the fact, come on here concerned that you are now getting bamboozled. Epik has a history of being pretty slow with the email responses so if you are concerned about your order and need an immediate response call them during your lunch if possible.


Don't get me wrong, I like Epik as an ID option and will probably end up with an Empire or if they come out with a 18" version, one of those.

@Evaninspace --
I ordered a single Legend as well. I didn't get a shipping confirmation but it came from Chicago to Los Angeles in 5 days from order. It came fed express and the box was in perfect condition. It probably did weigh less than 80 pounds shipping but everything was well-packed. The build quality is pretty much flawless -- and maybe it was less but it was still a pain in the ass wrestling it into position. I've slowly tweaked it a bit to get the bass better and better but since I watch mostly korean dramas there isn't much bass in them to really work out the legend. I can hear it kick in though when music with bass in it starts to play.

Anyway -- the main point is you needn't worry about getting shortchanged. I would say as far as customer service goes from buying to receiving my Legend, it's a 10/10.

Try changing your crossover settings to all your speakers and play around the range of 100hz-120hz. Use 120Hz for LFE only NOT LFE+Mains. Also check the subwoofer phase and switch to 0. Use SPL meter and calibrate all speakers to 75db.

You will notice a big improvement in bass quality.

I'm not Chad and don't have any association other than being a happy customer, so take this as purely my interpretation of the above statements.

Looking throughout this thread it is obvious Epik doesn't always answer emails as fast as a dedicated help desk, but generally does respond eventually, and is usually able to answer the phone right away during normal business hours. You can't compare the modest operations of Epik with the responsiveness of Amazon or other larger companies - it isn't practical.

Ordering late on a Monday means the order was actually received by a human Tuesday morning. I imagine Chad/Epik is busy, and probably had a number of orders to deal with that were placed over the weekend. Epik isn't some huge automated warehouse where the order gets received online, processed electronically and a robot goes and picks the item, prints a label, and sets it out for FedEx/Schenker pick up. So it probably took until late Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning to have someone physically grab a Legend, print a shipping label, and prep it for shipping. It would have been picked up Wednesday afternoon before COB, which is the just-less-than-48hrs timeframe you mentioned. So in my opinion, your order-to-shipping confirmation was typical.

As for the shipping weight: the Empire ships with a pre-formed chipboard pallet that probably weighs 20lbs. I would guess that the Legend doesn't ship with a pallet when it goes by FedExGround, but the shipping weight that was estimated when they designed the webpage might have assumed one would be used. So the boxed product weight is the shipping weight, and happens to be 20lbs less than what the website says.

The relative weights make sense: the Empire weighs about 120lbs out of box, but 140lbs shipping weight. the Legend is "about half an Empire", so it probably should weigh about 60lbs out of box. Add 20lbs for pallet that was never used: tada! 80 lbs.

So have no fears, you are getting a product that is excellent performance for the price, and weighs about what it should.

IMHO, again, I'm not Chad and never played him on TV,

shinksma

My Empire took a few days to ship as well. I was a little put off by that. I guess I'm used to Amazon Prime shipments that go out the same day, and of course I was extremely anxious and excited for it! My expectations were set when the website says "Ships Immediately". I think they could avoid the problems by changing that verbiage to "In Stock".

Man, these new Epik customers are an impatient bunch. I waited 3-4 weeks before shipment for my Valor back in the day, and was happy it wasn't longer.

I was going to say, I had to pick my Phoenix up and the lead time was still 3 or 4 weeks. I was pretty pleased at that!

I'm actually a little surprised at the differences in shipping times. But c'mon guys, 3 days to ship really isn't that much. That being said, I ordered a Legend this Monday and it was at my door Wednesday morning (Chicago to Minneapolis).