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Epi 100's or KLH Model 6

Moth R. Superior

Moth R. Superior

Active Member
Greeting's, Noob here, also, my first post. I'm coming to you for advise, opinion, etc.
I'm purchasing another set of speakers this week and I've narrowed it down a choice between a set of Epi 100's or, for a very similar price, KLH Model 6's.
I have done a lot of reading about both of these speakers, I'm secure in the fact that I'm winning either way, but without the luxury of auditioning them, was looking for any input that might nudge me in one direction.
I've also no doubt that most everyone here has had an experience with at least one of these speakers.
So, any notes on comparison?
 
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I have had both. Both are nice. My wife listens to a lot of books on tape/disc. When I thinned out some speakers she kept the model 6 because the voices sounded better on them.
 
The good news, as you've already mentioned, is that you really can't go wrong here. I've had both at different times and both sounded very good. My recollection is the KLH 6's were a bit more rolled off on the top end. And I *think* the EPIs might be a little smaller if that is any consideration.

Do you have any information on if these speakers have had any maintenance done? If nothing has been done, both pairs should have the crossover capacitors replaced, the KLH surrounds should be resealed, and/or the EPI surrounds may need replacement (though, I believe some of the early EPI's had rubber surrounds).

Edit: regarding the KLH 6's, the oldest versions require extra work to do maintenance as the cabs/grilles are sealed and you have to 'break' them open at the speaker terminals.

Double edit: welcome to AK!
 
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The Model 6's have been recapped, and the cloth surrounds re-sealed, the cabinets are flawless. I'm uncertain if any restoration has been done to the Epi's (awaiting reply), but due to some pretty fancy photography, the surrounds seem intact, with a hint of gloss.
 
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I'd probably roll with the EPI's, especially if the room is not too large. It's one of the better vintage small bookshelf speakers out there.
 
Haven't heard the EPI's, but have early Six's. They are great speakers, iconic, easy to listen to for hours, and deep buttery bass. Henry Kloss' favorites! Highs are "rolled off", but I never felt they lacked any detail, in fact the mids and highs are extremely good. The Six's get my vote, and with the added bonus of new caps and resealed woofer surrounds.
Let us know what you decided.
Cheers!
 
A lot would depend on your listening space and placement options. The Model 6's are more of a floor standing speaker that I had set on some short stands, the EPI's are a bookshelf speaker. Because of this, I never did an A/B comparison since they resided in different rooms with their own unique needs. Both are good sounding speakers but the EPI tweeters are really special in my book. The Model 6's have moved on having been replaced by some ADS L1230's but I still use the EPI's in the family room. I have mine ear height on some bookshelves in the corners of the room as suggested by the owners manual.

Just be sure they are the EPI's with the concave tweeters and still have the original woofers. The later 100 T/E's are EPI's in name only as far as I'm concerned.
 
I have other speakers to mix and match depending on which room they sound best in, so that's not a big concern. (still, I'm curious which would pair up with my Genesis' best!)
They are the concave "gold ringed" tweets, colohiker. Can't verify the woofers until a personal inspection.
 
Are the EPIs wood or vinyl covered? That would matter, to me.
I have the EPIs with vinyl cladding, and heard the KLH 6 long ago.
I think the KLH sounded a bit more balanced. Definitely a larger speaker than the EPI.

Now if it was the EPI 150, I'd pick that.
 
Finally a thread where I can offer my own experiences and give a real personal opinion!

I have had both EPI/Genesis speakers as well as KLH Twenty Threes and Twenty Fours. When what's her face decided that she would rather have a nice set of vintage speakers for her HT rig instead of the modern Polk (Monitor 70/Monitor 30/CS2) she had, I sold the Polks and set it up with 2x KLH 23 for front L/R, 2x KLH 23 in parallel bracketing the screen for center, and 2x KLH 24 for surround - for no other reason than I already had all but two of the speakers required to do that.

It worked well, but the "sweet spot" was very narrow - everything was great as long as you were in the exact middle of the couch. If you got off center, the dialogue sounded off center, as your ear would locate on the "center" speaker that was closer to you, not the intended blend of both of them.

A local AKer found a pair of Genesis G110s at a goodwill and offered them to me, I already had a pair of Genesis 1+ (basically very similar to an EPI 100) so I refoamed the G110s and redid the front with those, G110 left and right and 1+ for the center. The wider dispersion of the EPI tweeter made the "sweet spot" much wider and this is the best setup yet; dialogue is centered on the screen for the whole width of the couch pretty much and even with DSP I swear the dialogue is also easier to hear at lower volumes because the tweeter in the Genesis is just better. I got a pair of early walnut EPI 100s for surrounds and in fact if I could find more I'd sell the Genesis as the extended bass of the G110 is not required with a subwoofer as I have (and they are kind of huge. But were cheap. As in I traded an old blu ray player for them cheap)

So... if a wide sweet spot is important and you like a bright clear tweeter, roll with the EPIs. I'm not sure how the bass is on the Sixes but it definitely is better on the Twenty Threes. So if you're a basshead I'd probably go KLH.

All that said however I would probably personally give the nod to the KLH unless the EPIs had real walnut cabinets (most of them were vinyl it seems) for aesthetic reasons, and if they are both walnut then whichever was in better physical condition. Because aesthetics, they're important.
 
Do not pass up a pair of Six's that have already had all the work that most of us have to do when we're lucky enough to score a pair done to them. A marvelous opportunity. Get them, stick them on some small stands and enjoy. The are a most amazing speaker and will sound great with any music, and most amps, that you throw at them. I've listened to them through 15 watt tube amps and currently am using them with a Yamaha M-4 solid state big amp(carefully of course) and they just are the warmest speaker, yet while producing lovely detail, that one could wish for.

Worse comes to worse if you don't like them you'll easily be able to sell them with all the work already being done. Hell, I might buy them from you.
 
Again it probably boils down to the listening area. For office or bedroom duties I'd roll with the EPI's. For larger listening spaces the 6's easily get the nod if used for music and general listening.
 
Moth R. Superior said:
I have other speakers to mix and match depending on which room they sound best in, so that's not a big concern. (still, I'm curious which would pair up with my Genesis' best!)
They are the concave "gold ringed" tweets, colohiker. Can't verify the woofers until a personal inspection.
Click to expand...

Match with Genesis? Don't get any closer match than an EPI. They're essentially the same.

Now if you want to try something different I like KLHs too...
 
Wow guys, thanks a lot for all the input! As I expected, after somewhat tallying up the votes, I've come up totally even. And I figured as much, but I also value the opinions and personal experiences offered in these pages. I've always thought that was one of the most valuable features to a community such as this. Just as valuable as technical/repair guidance and resources. (actually, quite a bit more!)
Just wanted to throw that in.
Feel free to add any more words of wisdom, I still have another day before my purchase!
 
colohiker said:
If they are Genesis Physics with the concave tweeter, then the EPI's would be the ones.
Click to expand...

Both the Genesis and the EPI were designed by Winslow Burhoe. The tweeters should be a close timbre match if both are the inverted dome.

You could always buy both pairs and listen for yourself. Then sell the pair that you like the least. I have not heard any of the earlier KLH speakers, but have a pair of EPI 200C and a pair of Epicure 2.0 that image like crazy. Neither pair is going anywhere.
 
The KLHs go lower and are sweeter sounding to me. The EPIs are fine speakers but always sounded a little dry to me. If you can accommodate the significantly larger size of the KLHs, I would suggest them. But size matters -- sometimes negatively -- and tastes differ. Either would be a sound choice.
 
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