Epi speakers 6 feet tall?

[freQ(*)Oddio]

i have moved into a apartment for probably a few years, i am looking at buying a cheap small home and have the means to finally do so , but i am sick of moving and just need to relaxi for a while and listen to music, i have my 1000s stored at my mothers and purchased a new system for the apartment, i am loving this system in my signature.........but i miss the towers, i will have them in my final system when i can get in a permanent place, thanks guys, how you been onwardjames, good to hear from you and marz always! here is a thumbnail pic of the resting place of the towers for the next few years.

 

[onwardjames]

how you been onwardjames, good to hear from you and marz always!

I can't complain, getting the hang of my new job. Good to see those are stored, and safe. Can't find those just anywhere, you know, lol. Take care!

 

[Kugelinzki]

Actually if you want a nice amp snag a Sony ES N80ES. You can usually get them around that price and they will feed those 1000s. I didn't a lot a various trials using tube amps, mono blocks and they were very fun. Had them at a local ak meet with a OTL 1212 100wpc tube amp and it was awesome. Lots of people were impressed with the performance of the epi. I honestly really miss my old M602s, those were one of my favorite pairs.

Yeah, I would snag another pair if I came across them. I bought mine, restored them and eventually sold them off. But that is just what I like to do, I love testing out many different things in this hobby. I think you will like them and a member recently posted a restore on his M1000's. He will chime in I'm sure and he is a great resource for some guidance and you will benefit from chatting with him if you get these.

Hi all, I have a couple questions for any who can give some good advice. I was given some real good stuff and want to make the best of what I have. First is a harmon kardon citation 16 amp, epicure m1000 speakers that where cut down to 41 inches tall, that have had woofers replaced with some radio shack woofers,and jbl l212 speakers that im using as highth speakers with my new pioneer sc lx502 receiver for modern control and connections. First thing would replacing the radio shack woofers with epicure woofers improve the sound drastically? and did reducing size of enclosers from 6'3" to 41" screw up sound stage of them? they sound a little trebley and mechanical even when hooked up to the old citation 16 amp. my second question is what is best way to configure system? I can run citation 16 amp from zone 2 of pioneer reciever to power epicure speakers, but then how would i configure the dolby atmos, or is that something I would have to get advice from pioneer??????

 

[freQ(*)Oddio]

Hi all, I have a couple questions for any who can give some good advice. I was given some real good stuff and want to make the best of what I have. First is a harmon kardon citation 16 amp, epicure m1000 speakers that where cut down to 41 inches tall, that have had woofers replaced with some radio shack woofers,and jbl l212 speakers that im using as highth speakers with my new pioneer sc lx502 receiver for modern control and connections. First thing would replacing the radio shack woofers with epicure woofers improve the sound drastically? and did reducing size of enclosers from 6'3" to 41" screw up sound stage of them? they sound a little trebley and mechanical even when hooked up to the old citation 16 amp. my second question is what is best way to configure system? I can run citation 16 amp from zone 2 of pioneer reciever to power epicure speakers, but then how would i configure the dolby atmos, or is that something I would have to get advice from pioneer??????

Congrats on your new Audio things , Thats actually not to bad looking cut down like that, I am not sure of the cabinet size now vs the original size, But i wouldnt worry about it. As Epi made a similar size to yours but with smaller woofers called the 400. The only proper replaceable drivers i can find come from Huws Human Speakers, google it his site will come up.

 

[freQ(*)Oddio]

Hi all, I have a couple questions for any who can give some good advice. I was given some real good stuff and want to make the best of what I have. First is a harmon kardon citation 16 amp, epicure m1000 speakers that where cut down to 41 inches tall, that have had woofers replaced with some radio shack woofers,and jbl l212 speakers that im using as highth speakers with my new pioneer sc lx502 receiver for modern control and connections. First thing would replacing the radio shack woofers with epicure woofers improve the sound drastically? and did reducing size of enclosers from 6'3" to 41" screw up sound stage of them? they sound a little trebley and mechanical even when hooked up to the old citation 16 amp. my second question is what is best way to configure system? I can run citation 16 amp from zone 2 of pioneer reciever to power epicure speakers, but then how would i configure the dolby atmos, or is that something I would have to get advice from pioneer??????

Personally
I would separate the epi speakers from the home theater setup , pull them out another foot at least , put some Howards polish on them and enjoy music in 2 channel with the jbl speakers removed from the tops, but its all good either way.

 

[Kugelinzki]

ya Ive been to site, I guess I'll just have to spend the 500 to properly restore them

 

[onwardjames]

ya Ive been to site, I guess I'll just have to spend the 500 to properly restore them

If you end up dealing with Huw Powell, he's a great guy, and his quality, and the quality of these speakers (even sawn in half or whatever was done) is worth this.

I restored my Epi Model 20's, dropped them into 201 cabs, and they turned out great.

Good luck!

 

[Goggle1824]

ya Ive been to site, I guess I'll just have to spend the 500 to properly restore them

No you really don’t there are several other ways to repair/repair them, but if you do you will have a pair AMAZING performing and sounding speakers that you aren’t likely to be able to duplicate for similar money used and almost certainty not anything “new”.

What kind of music do you listen to most often, what is the size of your listening room area and what do you plan to power them with are also ALL pretty relevant variables to getting the most enjoyment from them.

 

[toxcrusadr]

Shame about the speakers being cut down but it is what it is. Any replacement woofer is not likely to sound right unless care was taken in the selection, and that's one in a hundred or a thousand. So you should assume they do not sound proper now and will sound much better when put back to original. Always possible that whoever replaced them got one or more woofers hooked up backwards and that's killing some bass, but just as likely it's simply a bad match for the rest of the speaker.

While you're in there replacing woofers, make sure all the tweeters work, and consider changing out the capacitor(s). These speakers have a very simple crossover - probably a single cap but I don't know the M1000 from memory. That cap is pretty old now.

You can always go on the installment plan and buy pairs of woofers and gradually replace them, if budget is a concern. Or you might find some correct originals at AK, ebay etc.

 

[freQ(*)Oddio]

Thanks so much for every poster in this thread it was a great great time in my life learning about these speakers with you guys!

 

[guest136]

Kinda like a giant 901 ...m1000 awsome

 

[Goggle1824]

I agree with toxcrusadr somewhat. As long as the cabinets are sealed back up well, they are very likely to still sound PHENOMENAL, assuming the the following is performed:

1) DEFINITELY, definitely, definitely, replace the current old, out of spec, capacitors with modern “like value” units.

Most likely that will be an 8 or 10 uF (microfarad) capacitor. Huw and many, many of us use the Dayton Audio 10uF Polypropylene capacitor from Parts Express. They cost a couple of bucks a piece, currently $4.79/ea

If you wanted to keep nearly identical voicing from when the speakers were made and “save” a couple of bucks per capacitor, you could also use a modern Electrolytic non-polarized capacitor, currently $ .71/ea at Parts Express. These won’t last as long or perform “as precisely” as the Poly’s above but they will certainty work and sound great, especially compared to the original capacitors currently in the speakers.

2) Become a subscriber to AudioKarma, currently $25/annually (I believe) and get access to Barter Town and watch for or post a WTB for Epi/Epicure 8” woofers. You must ONLY USE Epi/Epicure woofers OR Huw’s modern replacements, which you are already aware of. IF YOU USE ANYTHING ELSE, you are wasting your time, money and effort. Just use the right stuff from the get go, please take my word for it.

Replacement units can be found on eBay, etc as well, but I like to support the site where I have learned so much about this great hobby, so I support it when and how I can, thus become an annual subscriber/supporter.

3) Epi/Epicure air-spring tweeters are capable of handling a Sh*t Ton of power and almost always are blown because they are/were UNDER DRIVEN and the distortion causes a meltdown. Trust me, don’t worry about over driving them.

4) less critical but worth the effort, replace the terrible, junky, most likely mostly or completely broken speaker terminals UNLESS you have already the 5-way screw-type terminals which I believe were what came on the 400’s and 1000’s.

These are worth the time and effort and will reward you many times over if updated as detailed above and driven with something that can CONTROL the woofers and not just “drive” them.

Do you have any more pictures you can share of what you are working with?

And where are you located?

 

[guest136]

I can tell you the inverted dome epi tweeter was excellent , blow resistant not even . dayton tweeter caps s u ck

 

[toxcrusadr]

dayton tweeter caps s u ck

Thanks for your personal impressions. Quite a few people like them fine - in their speakers with their amps and their ears. OP will have to decide.

At $5 or less each you can change caps any time you want.

 

[Hifidelity7]

Gents- I came to this EPi thread very late- but appreciated the comments and experience of some of the members, to help freQ(*)Oddio in his Tower 1000 speakers. In fact, his speaker serial # 1582 is very close to mine: 1580 & 1584! Knowing none of you likely will revisit this thread soon, I still want to thank you for the capacitor info (Dayton Audio 10uF Polypropylene capacitor from Parts Express.) which I may need.
Also, I am an original owner (still) of a pair of M1000 Tower speakers, orig receipt, bought 1975 while in apartment, kept in heated spaces, and now reside in “ bonus room” I completed, in my house. I went from the Epi 400s, to the Towers for $1400 from Playback audio, Indianapolis. Enjoy the Analog Productions Jazz series vinyl. No speaker buzzing, smooth bass, on Auralex sound pads, and mint grill and cabinets. Over the years I powered them with: Dyna400, a Phase Linear 400, and now with a heavy MC252 amp and C41 preamp, etc.. Mine were stored in heated unfinished space, covered, from 1993- 2005, before I revived them. While there are other choices, I never changed main speakers once I had them, since a full range option would cost many thousands. The one time I did have help to carry them from the apartment in the 70s, I had bruises on my upper legs for days!

 

[egellings]

The 6' tall epi speakers I saw had an 8" driver with a 1" dome mounted low on the cabinet, and there were 4 of these pairs of drivers, one pair mounted on each wall of the speaker for an omnidirectional effect. Bass was very good. Imaging was diffuse at best. I think it was their TOTL offering at the time. They did sound good.

 

[Hifidelity7]

The 6' tall epi speakers I saw had an 8" driver with a 1" dome mounted low on the cabinet, and there were 4 of these pairs of drivers, one pair mounted on each wall of the speaker for an omnidirectional effect. Bass was very good. Imaging was diffuse at best. I think it was their TOTL offering at the time. They did sound good.

True- the 8” woofer and 1” dome tweeter, is on all 4 sides, in a acoustic suspension sealed cabinet, 18” ea. side, and relied on reflected sound. Called a “ New England” sound, it could play hard rock and standard music well. Thanks for the response.They were big brother to the 90# 400.
The walnut cabinets had terminal pairs at both ends, and was store-displayed with the speaker pairs mounted low on the cabinet, but the woofer was mounted lower than the tweeter. Thus, I never considered it safe to flip them and put the heavy driver end at the top, since they are 6’3” tall. No problem shaking slider doors, when movie “ Earthquake “ signal fed to them- No need to do that when you are older!

 

[toxcrusadr]

Hi HF7, great to have you at AK. Sounds like you are into audio for the long haul - original owner! Not many can boast owning original equipment for that many years.

When you get a chance, post a pic of your speakers.

 

[Hifidelity7]

Thanks, Tox! Yes- I may be a bit older, but also own original open reels, Soundcraftsman EQ, Phase Linear, Dynaco, 3bx, etc. Have posted a couple pics just before this reply, but add those below. Have been around the site since 2009, but house and work took a lot of time. (the avatar is of my apartment in 1974- the large Akai R2R weighs 70#) Hope you enjoy the post.

 

[Hifidelity7]

Thanks so much for every poster in this thread it was a great great time in my life learning about these speakers with you guys!

Your experience shared on the Towers, was memory lane for me when I recently found this EPI thread, so could not resist to add my own post to this thread. Hope your house works out, but your Towers look safely stored.