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EPI Model 100 Restoration Project With Photos

Connor G

Connor G

Ear conditioned
Subscriber
Hey all... I recently scored an early pair of EPI Model 100's (July 18, 1977 on woofer) for $1.00...
I was passing a rummage sale that a local church was having and I saw these sitting there calling my name so I had to get them. When I saw the EPI emblem, I knew that i was in for a treat. the cabinets were severely faded and stained, with some surface scratches, but no dents or scrapes at all! The past owner put them on felt pads, so the bottoms were not in that bad of shape... I bought them without taking the grilles off, not knowing if they had foam or cloth surround, or if they were rotted. The foam surround was rotted of course, but re foaming speakers is not hard and pretty fun to do. I hooked up an ohm meter to the woofers and tweeters and everything seemed to be in spec so I ordered a foam repair kit online, along with a couple Dayton 10uF caps for the crossovers in both, and a couple sets of gold plated binding posts, which I am still waiting on to come in on Thursday, and I made new wires for the internals of them. I sanded, and re-stained the cabinets, and re-painted the baffles black because they were faded and chipped. I cleaned the speaker grilles off along with the emblems and they look amazing! they don't even look like the same speakers. I have also heard many good things about the inverted dome tweeters that they have and how good the imaging of these speakers are so that's a plus :)
I'm not done with the speakers yet, but I will be posting more photos as I finish them up.
I have to re-foam the woofers, mount the new binding posts, and solder in the new Capacitors.
Here are some photos of what they looked like before and after...
Keep in mind, this is my first ever restoration job of any speakers, so I'm pretty happy of how they are turning out :)

IMG_0791.JPG IMG_0793.JPG IMG_0785.JPG IMG_0799.JPG IMG_0790.JPG IMG_0804.JPG IMG_0814.JPG IMG_0806.JPG
Thanks for Viewing :)
 
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Lookin' good! What type of rear terminals and cap are you going to use? I use the 1% Dayton 10uf and an Audiocap Theta .01uf bypass cap and they seem to work extremely well.
 
Wow, for your first job those turned out great!! The new stain looks better than factory; not a fan of the 'brown' stained wood of the 70's. What color stain? I like the red in it. Can't wait to see more of the project. Oh, and congrats on the find and purchase...lucky! I never seem to find anything good at garage sales or second hand stores.
 
Great pair of speakers and that's some very fine cabinet resto-work for your first project. You're making good decisions all around, and it's good to see that this pair (made in MA) did not escape the Commonwealth and cross state lines! Love that avatar.
 
ethangsmith said:
Lookin' good! What type of rear terminals and cap are you going to use? I use the 1% Dayton 10uf and an Audiocap Theta .01uf bypass cap and they seem to work extremely well.
Click to expand...

Have to ask about the bypass cap...

Seen the addition of a bypass cap mentioned in a positive manner in another EPI-100 thread, but in related readings of deploying bypass caps - the consensus I found was that it was not needed at all.

Did you try it without the bypass cap first? and if so - what lead you to want to add it?

Thanks!
 
I didn't listen to it without the bypass cap. I just went ahead and did it all at once so I didn't have to reopen the cabinet a second time. I CAN say that the 1% Dayton and Audiocap made a vast improvement over the old cap that was in there. Much more clarity, no harshness to the treble, and even the bass seemed a bit more defined (Probably because the treble was so much cleaner). I have 2 more pairs of 100's that will get the caps and reseal in the coming months. They are superb little speakers!
 
Great catch and good work. Nice project :)

There are little tricks to get a bit more out of these. A front/back brace at the top of the woofer hole is good. 1x1 with black sheet rock screws into the end grain and some wood glue. It'll tighten up the bass some.

Did yours have three fiberglass batts inside? If so, I usually use 3M 77 spray adhesive and stick those to the walls, back. Then use the lightest weight dacron pillow stuffing I can find to lightly fill the cabs when I'm reassembling. The increase in stuffing dampens internal reflections and makes the woofer think it's in a bigger box. It will help some with lower bass.
 
ethangsmith said:
Lookin' good! What type of rear terminals and cap are you going to use? I use the 1% Dayton 10uf and an Audiocap Theta .01uf bypass cap and they seem to work extremely well.
Click to expand...
Binding Posts: Part # 099-125 on parts express
Capacitor: Part # 027-244 on parts express
Ive heard good things about the Dayton caps which is why I picked them up... Should i have gotten the 0.1uF bypass cap?
would it make a difference?
 
67dylan said:
Wow, for your first job those turned out great!! The new stain looks better than factory; not a fan of the 'brown' stained wood of the 70's. What color stain? I like the red in it. Can't wait to see more of the project. Oh, and congrats on the find and purchase...lucky! I never seem to find anything good at garage sales or second hand stores.
Click to expand...
Minwax "English Chestnut 233"
It was the darkest color I had and I liked the red in it too...
I volunteer at a swap meet of sorts at a local transfer station where the rules are take it or leave it. everything's free as long as you bring something in exchange... you should see what I find there sometimes. Im going to be posting what I get there when it open back up for the year... very fun :)
Thanks for commenting and good luck on your part. theres nothing like scoring awesome audio gear
 
ra.ra said:
Great pair of speakers and that's some very fine cabinet resto-work for your first project. You're making good decisions all around, and it's good to see that this pair (made in MA) did not escape the Commonwealth and cross state lines! Love that avatar.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Ive lived here my whole life and don't plan on moving... quiet in the winter and beautiful during the spring and summer
 
onwardjames said:
A buck!?

Jesus wept, what a great deal, and fantastic work.
Click to expand...
Can't wait to hear them... only reason I got them was because of the EPI logo, which when i saw, i basically threw the buck at the guy supervising the sale...heh
thanks for commenting!
 
onwardjames said:
In my opinion, the bypass caps aren't gonna help too much. I've done with and without......very minute
difference.
Click to expand...

That's kinda what I have read elsewhere and in other non-EPI threads.

And I'm not sure how the "bypass" function would work or add to the circuit; it's either 10.01uf with the bypass cap in place or 10.0uf without it.
 
Throw a five dollar bill in the cabinet instead of the bypass. See if it makes a difference.

Did Burhoe want to save the 25 cents in opposition to better sound quality?
 
CKDC said:
Throw a five dollar bill in the cabinet instead of the bypass. See if it makes a difference.

Did Burhoe want to save the 25 cents in opposition to better sound quality?
Click to expand...

My bet is he thought there was no need. Human Speakers doesn't add one to their EPI-100 restoration crossover, just the 5% 10uf.
 
CKDC said:
Throw a five dollar bill in the cabinet instead of the bypass. See if it makes a difference.
Click to expand...

This.

nfafan said:
My bet is he thought there was no need. Human Speakers doesn't add one to their EPI-100 restoration crossover, just the 5% 10uf.
Click to expand...

Gee, ya think?

I just look at all of this fretting and hand wringing over 'esoteric capacitors' and 'bypass' capacitors.........it's entertaining if nothing else.
 
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