Epic 80 Packaging and Reference System

Axiom Audio is well-known for their great 30-day trial period offer. If, during the first 30 days, you do not like their speakers, they will refund your full purchase price. Shipping is free throughout North America and they have a 5-year warranty against manufacturerÕs defects (1 year on subwoofers.)

The speakers arrived in double boxes, wrapped in plastic and braced with styrofoam. The foam was particularly cheap, as all but one piece broke during the shipment. It did its job protecting the gear, but it would be nice to have a more rigid solution for repacking in the event of a move or warranty replacement. When I find myself nitpicking about protective foam, it should give you an idea of how well these speakers performed.

The M80ti(s) and EP350 sub come with optional spikes and plastic feet for creating a solid connection to [through] your particular flooring material. I attached my floor standing speakers through the berber carpet using the spikes. As with any spike system, it is best to find a good position for your speakers first, then apply the spikes. Reversing the order makes for difficult speaker adjustments and needless hassle.

The Testing System

The Axiom Audio Epic 80 system fit well within my 12 x 20 listening room, providing enough room for the speakers to fire without being overly inundated by reflections. Below is the configuration utilized for this review:

Hardware	Description
Yamaha RX-V3000	Preamp / Processor
Sherbourn 7/2100	300 watt x 7 Channel Power Amp
Panamax 1000+	Line Conditioner and Noise Filter
Axiom Audio M80ti	Main Speakers
Axiom Audio VP150	Center Channel
Axiom Audio QS8	Rear Channels
Axiom Audio EP350	200 watt 12" powered subwoofer
Harman Kardon FL-8350	CD Changer
Sony DVP-550P	DVD-Video Player
Toshiba 32A40	32" Trinitron TV
Monster Z2B ML-15/15	Main & Center Speaker Cables
Monster ZB100 SW-18	Subwoofer Cable
Monstercable	12 AWG surround wiring

The Sherbourn 7/2100 amp cleanly powers a 4-ohm load at 300 watts/channel and an 8-ohm load at 200 watts/channel. With regards to power handling, the Axiom Epic 80 system is 6-ohms all around, except for the M80ti(s) which are 4-ohm. I found that the speakers performed best at moderate to high SPLs. Music and home theater is dynamic, and without giving these speakers enough power, you're just missing out on all they have to offer .

The Listening Environment

My listening room is characterized by a series of natural baffles and a good combination of neutral materials. Lots of time it is necessary to hang draperies and build or purchase fancy bass traps to eliminate problems in a room. I prefer to do it naturally, and as I built my home, I was able to construct a room where the furniture and natural materials could do most of the work for me. Bookshelves serve as diffusers, and 9' flat ceilings with berber carpet produce a room that is lively, but not highly-reflective.

The central listening position is a sofa located in the center of the room, 11 feet from the front wall, and 8' from the rear wall. The M80ti(s) are 9' apart and the QS8(s) are 7' apart on the rear wall to allow for reflectivity of the quadpolar design. The EP350 is situated inside of the left M80ti with the 180 degree phase switch engaged. This configuration was chosen after a long and arduous attempt at finding the best place for the subwoofer. Placing the EP350 directly in the corner of the room yielded poor results: bass response was reduced and very loose. Having heard the EP350 in other rooms, I knew the secret was finding just the right position for the cabinet. After several trials involving crawling around on all fours (yes it does work!) I located the subwoofer in its optimal position.