EPI curious, are they worth it?
- Thread starter PapaVerde
- Start date
Well, made the drive this morning after morning rush. My wife came along, made the drive most enjoyable. Best part of the hobby, really, my wife loves music too and enjoys that I enjoy it 
Had a little walk in Santa Cruz, some coffee (her pre-requisite “I’ll go anywhere, just buy me coffee”—true since we were dating), checked out the Patagonia outlet (good deals) and went to get the speakers.
It was an easy enough pickup, though the seller changed the place where I was to pickup from while I was on my way. Sounded fishy, but they turned out to be normal people. They moved them to the lobby of an apartment building, so there was no audition or test option. I would have liked to but it’s CL and I have my own rules so. They said all the drivers worked, so I took them at their word. Speaker took a selfie
Had a little walk in Santa Cruz, some coffee (her pre-requisite “I’ll go anywhere, just buy me coffee”—true since we were dating), checked out the Patagonia outlet (good deals) and went to get the speakers.It was an easy enough pickup, though the seller changed the place where I was to pickup from while I was on my way. Sounded fishy, but they turned out to be normal people. They moved them to the lobby of an apartment building, so there was no audition or test option. I would have liked to but it’s CL and I have my own rules so. They said all the drivers worked, so I took them at their word. Speaker took a selfie
Attachments
At a glance:
-They’re home!
-Both woofers could use new cones.
-All drivers could use new foam.
-Cabs don’t look too bad and will clean up nicely with a little fill in and restore-a-finish.
-the woofers are missing the ring covers.
-Zero grills.
-All doable
On first listen:
They sound...interesting. Hard to fully assess without being in tip top shape, but:
-Tweeters work perfect and are some of the best I’ve ever heard and they integrate excellent with the mids. The soundstage and imaging are fantastic. So much air
and ruthlessly revealing. They’ll need a dark amp for sure.
-Not so good, one midrange is completely locked in. Not all drivers worked , frustrated as I was told otherwise but we will see.
The worst, where is the bass??? There is limited bass with a Bryston 4Be NRB. It’s like you can hear them but it’s so thin. Like I’d need to add passive radiators and mess with crossovers which is a no-no for a classic.
Overall
-Hella potential
-Sounds like if a Maggie had a baby with a Heil, but with little midbass.
-Gotta get those drivers redone!
-All doable stuff for someone with limited skills like myself. Good times.
-They’re home!
-Both woofers could use new cones.
-All drivers could use new foam.
-Cabs don’t look too bad and will clean up nicely with a little fill in and restore-a-finish.
-the woofers are missing the ring covers.
-Zero grills.
-All doable
On first listen:
They sound...interesting. Hard to fully assess without being in tip top shape, but:
-Tweeters work perfect and are some of the best I’ve ever heard and they integrate excellent with the mids. The soundstage and imaging are fantastic. So much air
and ruthlessly revealing. They’ll need a dark amp for sure.-Not so good, one midrange is completely locked in. Not all drivers worked
, frustrated as I was told otherwise but we will see.The worst, where is the bass??? There is limited bass with a Bryston 4Be NRB. It’s like you can hear them but it’s so thin. Like I’d need to add passive radiators and mess with crossovers which is a no-no for a classic.
Overall
-Hella potential
-Sounds like if a Maggie had a baby with a Heil, but with little midbass.
-Gotta get those drivers redone!
-All doable stuff for someone with limited skills like myself. Good times.
Attachments
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D674C4D9-E264-4B21-95F3-6B4B4F4E65EA.jpeg
Very nice royzilla!
Those look to be a worthy project!
Looking forward to following the restore thread you start in Speakers!
Those look to be a worthy project!
Looking forward to following the restore thread you start in Speakers!
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Those cones can be saved for use to audition with some good elmers glue used properly
There were a number of different iterations of the speaker. Some had a foam material on the top around the tweeter. Maybe some pics on the web will have that if you want to duplicate it.
Yes, a nice project and it is great that you are so confident while claiming limited capabilities. These should turn out great. Hope so, they are a special speaker. The other rebuild threads have info on the grille material. It is maybe ½" air filter foam and it presses into hook fasteners on the speaker body. You can see the sizes of these on the speaker where it is faded. Oh and the R2D2 top to cover the tweeter, what should we call that the Fez?
Enjoy the trip and keep us up to date on the progress.
There were a number of different iterations of the speaker. Some had a foam material on the top around the tweeter. Maybe some pics on the web will have that if you want to duplicate it.
Yes, a nice project and it is great that you are so confident while claiming limited capabilities. These should turn out great. Hope so, they are a special speaker. The other rebuild threads have info on the grille material. It is maybe ½" air filter foam and it presses into hook fasteners on the speaker body. You can see the sizes of these on the speaker where it is faded. Oh and the R2D2 top to cover the tweeter, what should we call that the Fez?
Enjoy the trip and keep us up to date on the progress.
markshan
Sir Thrift a Lot
Of course there is no bass. The woofers have holes in them. No back pressure and less air movement. If it were me, I'd do the paper mache treatment to the backs of the woofer cones. Did you check the mid in isolation? Hopefully it's just a dropped wire or a bad cap.
Have fun with them. That's a nice score.
Have fun with them. That's a nice score.
HomerJSimpson
Addicted Member
As it seems some or all of the drivers had at least once been removed, double check all the driver connections and make sure none have been rewired Out of phase.
You know what's weird, I had a pair of DCM TF1000s in my basement for over a year and the little furry sociopaths had no interest in them at all. You'd figure if they were going to mangle anything it would be those socks...
