EPI Speakers Appreciation

[corbin]

Why do my little EPI 70s sound so good? Really feeling the Pink Floyd this evening.

I've had bigger and more expensive speakers, but none have sounded as enjoyable in my bedroom system as these. They are so smooth, can listen for hours, but there isn't any apparent loss of detail. Very "musical".

I like everything about them, even the name EPICURE which sounds badass, the elegant simple crossover, their underdog cult status compared to the ubiquitous Henry Kloss designs...

EPI even advertised the smooth nature of their speakers, quote "accurate harmonics, low distortion, omnidirectional radiant energy, and flawless transient response make EPI speakers a never tiring experience."

See brochure:

Please do share your experience with EPI speakers or speakers that sound similar. Curious to hear everyones impressions, including what amplifier combinations you've found match well. Looking forward to hearing from you all!

 

[TaddNOhio]

I am currently waiting on a pair of EPI 100v's to arrive (starting to get impatient) .. back years ago i had a pair of the EPI T/E 100's paired up to a Marantz 2230 and they sounded fantastic. I just recently purchased a refurbished Marantz 2245 as i am putting a vintage system back together again .. i was in a shop in Columbus,OH and heard the 100V's and they sounded amazing for a 2-way with only an 8" woofer and the airspring concave dome tweeters .. i immedietely began searching for a pair online in nice condition and found them. I am really surprised not more people talk about the EPI's

 

[ryeno]

Own EPI 500.

They are my PC speakers. I use a Yamaha Receiver, mid-range, and optical output from my PC. My main concern is how human voice sounds and these speakers do a good job reproducing voice.

My biggest complaint is that the woofer and mid-woofer aren't the best proportionally. i would prefer if the mid woofer was 6-6.5" rather than 4" and the woofer was 8" instead of 10". I can understand the design choice given that this was meant to be a stereo system for music back in the 1980s, rather than a modern 2.1 setup.

 

[AudioKeith]

Never heard EPIs until last week when I picked up 2 pairs of 400s and a pair of 1000s to sell for someone. As a quick test powered with a Mac 1900 receiver. Totally knocked out by them and actually preferred the 400s to the 1000s. Sounded great with classical and rock. I can totally see these as part of a rock system but feel the sound would get to me if I had them on for long periods of time. Would need alternate them with my Vandersteens if I had a 2 speaker setup.

 

[ivandezande]

Own the Genesis 1+ which is just a Epicure 150. It's one of those speakers that's in the class of say a Boston A70 that just does nothing super well, but everything right and any source material or genera of music just sounds pleasant. They can do no wrong and I'll be keeping them for quite a while.

 

[corbin]

Never heard EPIs until last week when I picked up 2 pairs of 400s and a pair of 1000s to sell for someone. As a quick test powered with a Mac 1900 receiver. Totally knocked out by them and actually preferred the 400s to the 1000s. Sounded great with classical and rock. I can totally see these as part of a rock system but feel the sound would get to me if I had them on for long periods of time. Would need alternate them with my Vandersteens if I had a 2 speaker setup.

I can see that, if there's one complaint with my system it is a tiny bit of brightness (fully digital source). Considering a tube buffer actually to mellow the sound a bit but still retain a vintage SS receiver which I like for sentimental and practicality reasons. Recapping the crossover (with an electrolytic to maintain same ESR, not a film cap) may help as well.

EPIs are still a "New England sound" speaker and actually IMO are slightly warm of neutral, but brighter than KLH or AR - or Vandersteens for that matter.

 

[corbin]

It's been a year since starting this thread and I'm loving my EPIs more than ever. I have since recapped with a poly cap and not sure how much of a difference it made but it sounds great. They retain good dynamics even at low volume, which is perfect for late night listening. I find myself listening to them more than my BA A150s, which are much bigger but not as smooth and listenable.

 

[nfafan]

It's been a year since starting this thread and I'm loving my EPIs more than ever. I have since recapped with a poly cap and not sure how much of a difference it made but it sounds great. They retain good dynamics even at low volume, which is perfect for late night listening. I find myself listening to them more than my BA A150s, which are much bigger but not as smooth and listenable.

I found my EPI-100s to be the best low-volume listening speakers I own. They are in the never-ever-sell stack behind my Walsh 2s and OLAs.

 

[hbucker]

I've got a pair of 100s and a set of empty 100V cabs that I may refurb someday. I like the dynamics of my 100s and feel like that tight punchiness has always been a signature of the EPI speakers I've heard.

 

[JarredCrowe]

I haven't had my 70s in a while now but I always consider EPIs when they come up for sale. Such charmers.

 

[madwing]

i've a pair of masonite-tweetered walnut 100s with the rubber surrounds on the woofers, and they're my second speakers for my office system. i can hear so much detail at low volume...such nice speakers to listen to. of course when i need to rumble the hallway i crank it up with my altecs.

 

[Akustic]

IMHO .. the Burhoe magic is natural rolloff in the 8" driver..
I have a an old 3-way that is surprisingly set up with just a cap on the tweeter, leaving the 8" woofer and the midrange to roll off naturally ..
Like the EPI's they sound better than anything in the house at low levels..
I'd posit that it's the chokes that rob the midrange of natural resonances at low levels .. can't find any research on that so far tho ..
Enjoy them.. I know what you're talking about .. owned the 100's long ago ..

 

[The Fuxtor]

I have a pair of Epicure 3.0.
Nicely built and very flat sounding speaker! Very balanced .

 

[Qtronic]

I have 100s and a new to me set of M202, rubber surrounds are shot, I have the new surrounds here and ready to install, other than that they’re minty.

I like your theory on the roll off and chokes Akustic!

 

[ra.ra]

....good dynamics even at low volume...

...the best low-volume listening speakers...

...i can hear so much detail at low volume...

...the EPI's they sound better than anything ... at low levels...

This is so true, but until now, I've never really been so consciously aware of this aspect in relation to other small notable bookshelf speakers. I've had my early epi-100's (walnut, masonite, rubber, rotary control) for well over a decade and they've almost always been relegated to bedroom (i.e. low SPL) duty.

 

[Bradley]

I owned two models of the EPI Time Energy series( TE-320 , TE-320-II ) during the early 1980's. I have read that some people did not think that the TE series was as good as the earlier models. Some of the newer TE models got favorable reviews in Stereo Review and High Fidelity. Audio magazine even had a pretty good review of the EPI Stat 450 electrostatic hybrid, which was very reasonably priced. From photos of the Stat 450, the electrostatic elements
resembled Janszen's. I wish I could have gotten my hands on a pair !

 

[Donkey Karma]

It's been a year since starting this thread and I'm loving my EPIs more than ever. I have since recapped with a poly cap and not sure how much of a difference it made but it sounds great. They retain good dynamics even at low volume, which is perfect for late night listening. I find myself listening to them more than my BA A150s, which are much bigger but not as smooth and listenable.

I do not always hear the "magic" many others seem to when recapping speakers of this vintage. With the EPI's I did. Opened them up, more sparkle and richness. Reminded me when I recapped a pair of Polk 10's. I just keep listening.

 

[nniemiec]

what caps did you use?

 

[madwing]

what caps did you use?

iirc i used illinois metallized propylene for my 100w’s.

 

[corbin]

I do not always hear the "magic" many others seem to when recapping speakers of this vintage. With the EPI's I did. Opened them up, more sparkle and richness. Reminded me when I recapped a pair of Polk 10's. I just keep listening.

One thing I learned when recapping my EPI 70s is that a poly cap will pass slightly more high frequencies than an electrolytic capacitor, especially an old electrolytic, due to ESR differences. So it makes sense that replacing the old cap with a new polypropylene (or film and foil) would emphasize the treble a bit more.

I was so worried that installing a poly cap would alter the frequency balance of the speaker, that I went through the trouble of installing an L-pad in series when I recapped my EPI 70s, so I could dial down the tweeter if necessary. It turned out to be ultimately unnecessary, as there is no harshness up top even with the L-pad in the max position.