My immediate impressions of the system included amazement at how tactile the subwoofer was in the listening room. It was so smooth that at first we wondered if it was working properly. I'm so used to small subs flexing their muscles in a way that has them standing out and making a show of themselves. The Axiom EP400 simply did its job thoroughly and accurately. When it was called for, tactile energy poured forth. When it was simply rolling out lower octaves, the room filled with pleasing bass that wasn't at all one-notey. The QS4 surrounds really captured the essence of what I feel surrounds are meant to. There was a complete diffusion of sound behind us yet we were able to get a good stereo separation despite the fact that the rear speakers were only 4-5 feet away from the listening position. The VP100 Center channel also did an excellent job at anchoring the dialogue and vocals to the 32-inch Toshiba we were using while evaluating the system.

DVD: Saving Private Ryan
During the opening scene at Omaha Beach the panning and directionality of the Axiom Epic Midi system was apparent. Bullets whizzed overhead and the entire sound field was caught up in the harrowing rush to cover. "Radar Station" was an equally intense scene and Axiom's EP400 really came through as the ultra-low "thumpy" bullet shots filled the room as the soldiers dashed for the enemy gunning positions. The sub would need to be accompanied by another (or upgraded to a larger sub from Axiom) in a bigger room, but for this small room it was more than adequate. It was impressive to hear the dynamic range of the system, especially when the action went from 0-60 in no time flat. Small background explosions could be heard in the distance and then suddenly the sound field would be filled with the cracking of gunfire and the massive impact sounds of an explosion. This is great test material and Axiom's system did very well at proving that their near-entry level system is up to the task of home theater.

DVD-Audio/DTS: Lowen & Navarro - Carry On Together
The lead song, "Compass Point", had a Mandolin which put forth a clear and crisp top end with detailed string strumming and a beautiful tone. We found that with DTS music tracks we felt the need to ease back off the subwoofer levels a bit. While excellent for movies, the EP400 needed to be tamed somewhat to sound a perfect blend with music tracks. Some AV receivers will allow you to vary the subwoofer output level in different modes, this may help automate that process. Other receivers will allow on-the-fly level trims and you can use that to temporarily adjust the subwoofer to taste without having to get up and adjust the physical volume control.

Bass guitar sounded rich and complete, with both the top end snap and bottom end roll we have come to associate with good bass playing. It was great not to hear any obvious gaps or holes between the lower midrange capabilities of the speakers and the upper limits of the subwoofer (which we had crossed over at 80Hz). On cymbals we felt there was a tad bit of "air" missing but it didn't seem to distort or compress the frequencies at even at moderate output levels. "Cold Outside" is one of my favorite tracks on this album and the piano had a smooth, extended ring out and decay that carried the natural reverb of the room to our ears.

DVD-Audio/DTS: The Blue Man Group - The Complex
Dave Matthews' voice was well-anchored to the center in "Sing Along" and the whips were sooth while bass had a pleasing and solid feel with just the right amount of mid-bass present. The PVC hits were present but didn't carry the same tonality and impact I've heard with more upper-mid-rich systems. This is most likely due to the levels we were driving the system to and the amount of information we were asking these small boxes to carry. Tracy Bonham's lead in "Up to the Roof" was solid but left us wanting a bit more definition in her delivery. The VP100 performed well in this system but would probably have a hard time keeping up with some of the larger speaker offerings from Axiom. The wispy break that pops up before one of the final choruses was crisp and satisfying - we really like the tweeter in the M2s. Overall we felt that the Epic Midi system did a really good job on multi-channel music. The upper midrange was the only area lacking in definition - which is understandable for this type of loudspeaker design.

DTS CD: Eagles - Hell Freezes Over
We listened for the telltale bass line which opens up track 9 "New York Minute" and the Axiom sub basically laughed at me as it played it with ease - adding a wondrous bump to the kick as due course. Henley's vocals poured through the Center channel like he was embedded in the room. We were repeatedly brought back to the realization that this system is simply a revealing, clear 5.1 audio setup that has an almost limitless amount of enjoyability. During "Seven Bridges Road" we really felt that the bass vocal was uncanny. The combined vocal effect came across well and we were able to easily pick apart each voice - though the system didn't have an artificially-exaggerated channel separation. The sound was natural and very full.

Conclusions

Axiom Audio has put together a very pleasing system in the Epic Midi 400. Because we enjoyed the system so much it is hard to recommend it without the subwoofer upgrade (and of course, we'd have to hear it with the lesser priced subs to see how performance was impacted.) The only difficulty is in the amount of competition available at this price point. For just under $2000 Axiom is in for a lot of comparison shopping. It's clear, however, that the star of the show was the EP400 subwoofer. While the M2s and VP100 Center channel performed admirably, the EP400 enabled a seamless blend that seemed to extend forever as it reproduced even the lowest frequencies we expected in the tracks we listened to (some of which we didn't have time to include in this review). We can heartily recommend the Epic Midi 400 system as an excellent-sounding system and one that would go well into almost any small to medium-sized room.

Epic Midi 400 Speaker System
MSRP $1975

Axiom Audio
Highway 60
Dwight, Ontario
Canada
P0A 1H0
866-244-8796
sales@axiomaudio.com

About Axiom Audio
For more than two decades, Axiom Audio has made its reputation by achieving unprecedented performance quality. At inception, Axiom Audio's founder Ian Colquhoun sparked a new period of progress in the annals of loudspeaker design with his work at the National Research Council lab in Ottawa, Canada, under the direction of Dr. Floyd Toole. There he spent innumerable hours perfecting innovation after innovation. The revolutionary theories and methodology resulting from this work were recognized and published in industry journals around the world. Canadian audio engineering gained particularly high status, which Ian Colquhoun and his company have helped maintain ever since.