Audio Control Epicenter
 

I am interested in Audio Control products and the pursuit of good SQ/SPL. When running my Eclipse 5506 I had plans to ad a 1/3rd octave EQ or possibly an Audio Control DQS.

But now that I have switched to the CD7200mkII (Installing next week) I'm not so sure I need to go to the lengths of the DQS, nor do I feel like tuning an eq with 30+ bands. I listen to a wide variety of music to complicate things further.

However, If I like the sound from the 7200 without external equalization I was still considering possibly getting an Audio Control Epicenter. However, I don't know much about the benefits and the website doesn't seem to offer much info. other than "gives new meaning to the word bass".

Anyone got any info or experience with these units? Here's my system in a nut shell:

-Eclipse CD7200mkII
-Eclipse 8052 5-1/4" Components Front and Rear
-Eclipse 88120DVC 12" Subs in Sealed Box @ 1.25 cubes each.
-Planet Audio Quadra running 75x4 @ 4ohms for mid/high end.
-Planet Audio Vector D running 1200x1 @ 1 ohm for low end.

Rock solid electrical, with RedTop primary, YellowTop secondary, 2x1 Farad Caps, Battery regulator and more 1/0g, 2g & 4g cable than you can shake a stick at. LOL.

Lyle

I've used them for years. What do you want to know?

If you listen to stuff that doesn't have a lot of bass (think 80s pop) then it's a great device. If you listen to the latest SpineMelter hits then the Epi is mostly useless.

I’m more interested in what type of controls it offers in regards to equalization, etc. Also what type of benefits it has in regards to SPL competition etc.

In as few words as possible.....:eek:

The epicentre is a digital bass restoration circuit, not an EQ or crossover. It works by listening to a full range signal from your deck and paying the most attention to what are called 'harmonics' in the sound.

Any bass note consists of a fundamental tone at say 30hz and harmonics of that tone at 60hz, 120hz, 240hz etc. Each harmonic gets quieter the further away it is from the fundamental. In a lot of music recorded thru the 70s and 80s the recording technology used at the time did a crummy job at the extreme ends of the frequency range and as a result the sub-bass in those recordings was, in extreme cases simply non-existant in the final recording. There also the problem of getting loud low frequencies to play properly on a record player.....if they were too loud they could bounce the needle right off the record groove, which made a really bad noise......:laugh:

The Epi 'hears' those harmonics and recreates the fundamental tone.....the "sweep" knob on it controls the width of the frequency range the unit will reproduce and the gain adjusts the volume of the newly-created fundamental.

The unit uses a -24db/octave Subsonic Filter @ 33hz to prevent damage to speakers in ported boxes.....I have used mine for years on 4 sealed 15" Orions and as noted above it works like a charm on all the "old-school" rock I listen to. For anything recorded in the last 20-odd years they are largely unnecessary.

It would probably not be much help in an SPL comp since the frequencies it creates are so low.....not many competitors burp below 40 or 45hz anyway.....:dunno:

HTH

It's also VERY good if you listen to alot of MP3's as low end output on most rips is affected quite a bit.