The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Home
Forums
AudioKarma Audio Forums
Speakers

EPI-100v birch ply cabs / My experience with high quality capacitors

bob412 · 2018-05-30T23:46:59+00:00

I posted a question about capacitor quality a few months ago inquiring if cap quality makes a difference to loudspeaker sound . I'm the type that whenever I purchased a new vintage speaker the first thing I would do was to replace all the capacitors with new , cheap electrolytics . I was a happy camper and didn't know what quality film capacitors could do . Anyway I have a pair of EPI-100 based on the Audio Note An-J's( sealed box ) , they call them clones . What follows is my experience with quality capacitors used in speaker crossover networks . These two inch sausage size Audyn capacitors (10uf,400v) made a huge difference in my EPI Audio Note clone cabinets . The original EPI-100's are great speakers and will benefit from a quality film capacitor instead of an electrolytic . I went with a pair of German made audiophile film capacitors made by Audyn (10uf,400v) . My Epi-100 speaker are remakes using thin walled birch plywood (1/2 inch) . They're bigger than the 100v's mine measure exactly 23hx13wx10d , they're more full range than the 100v's with strong in room bass down to 30hz,easily heard and felt with a 70 watt amp I use with test tones . I like birch because it is light but super strong , very easy to move around . It might be thin but it's a hell of a lot stronger than the original particle board cabinets . The birch cabinets create a very lively , open sound and those cheap electrolytic caps I was using brought out the absolute worst in them , the treble mainly suffered as it was always bright and edgy but very detailed at the same time , for some reason it was never harsh . The only thing that removed the edge was my pentode tube amp or the tripath amp I own .The particle board cabinets are good but in a veiled sort of way and not as lively as the birch cabinets , especially in the midrange( birch is very open and clear) . The birch cabinets with those terrific Audyn film caps (10uf,400v) allows the speakers to sing like a speaker system that cost at least $3000 , I kid you not ! The speakers have a wall to wall type spaciousness and deep clear imaging , the bass is nice and tuneful and deep . I have the speakers exacly 7 feet apart and 5 inches in front of the back wall . When I use very good recordings the speakers now extract room echoes very easily , and that's with a solid state amp . I didn't hear this before , my guess is the Audyn caps has something to do with this detail I'm now hearing ?? My tube amp recreates this spaciousness by a magnitude of two but I don't like the heat associated with tubes this time of year . Room sounds such as echos that exist in recordings wasn't easily heard before I upgraded the caps . Those boutique caps took all the grain and edge off of the treble . It's like there's an openness and spaciousness to the sound without the hi fi edge it had before . Don't get me wrong , if you use a crappy recording it will sound bad but not like it did with those electolytic caps , but it's never harsh . It's like music , natural music , very lively and full of life , especially in the midrange , piano music is incredible . Some people will doubt this and that's fine . All I know is what I'm hearing now and its better by magnitudes . My speakers sound as good as they do simply because of the new boutique caps and the high quality birch cabinets . I copied these ideas from several individuals with websites and their experiences with plywood cabinets , plus a lot of reading BBC monitor reports . Cabinet material makes a huge difference . I went with Audyn because they're used in German speakers that cost anywhere from $4000 to 10k per pair . Those BBC engineers know what they're talking about . If you're looking to take your EPI speakers to the next level of performance I encourage you to experiment with high quality birch plywood . I love the lively open sound these cabinets provide . Like I said before my speakers aren't embarrassed at all by far more expensive modern speakers . It's like EPI drivers have the soul of a reference quality studio monitor in them waiting to be coaxed out . I've alway been impressed with the sound of Fritz loudspeakers but I prefer the sound of my EPI clones to certain Fritz models . And I'm not finished tweaking them . These speakers are incredible, No bull ! All you have to do is experiment like I did . If you decide to build a pair of birch plywood( marine or Russian) cabinets for your EPI drivers don't finish the cabinets with any polyurethanes at all . It will absolutely kill the tone and the type sound I've just described . You'll find that the tone will be dull ,grey and kinda lifeless . Use a natural finish that allows wood to breath and won't seal the wood . I learned this the hard way by not listening to the guys at the 'mother of tone website' . Or just simply avoid any kind of finish . Quality birch plywood (marine) is completely void free and looks great naked . No bracing is necessary except for pine battens glued to each corner of the inner cabinet walls . Plywood is super strong in comparison to mdf and particle board . If you want a more solid bass just double up on the baffle size to 1 inch instead of 1/2 inch . A thicker baffle will also improve detail retrieval .

Thread starter bob412
Start date May 30, 2018

Culpeper

Active Member

Jun 2, 2018

I replaced the caps on two sets of Sansui SP2500. The caps were the blue standard Jantzen. I didn't need to go any fancier than that.

You must log in or register to reply here.

Facebook X Bluesky LinkedIn Reddit Pinterest Tumblr WhatsApp Email Link

Home
Forums
AudioKarma Audio Forums
Speakers

Back

Top Bottom