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EPI TE 100

RandyFloyd76

RandyFloyd76

Well-Known Member
I saw a pair of EPI TE 100 speakers in a local thrift a while back. At $2.99 for the pair, I couldn't leave them there. I have a pair of EPI 100v and have always been impressed. I was skeptical about these later model EPI's. (The woofer on these speakers were stamped 1985). But the cabinets were nice and heavy and the quality of drivers seemed pretty good.

I cleaned them up and bought new foams from Rick Cobb. Wow, am I surprised. Pretty dynamic with plenty of bass. The tweeter performs much better than I expected. I'm sure they could benefit from a re-cap, bracing and some more polyfill. But overall I thought they are great vintage speakers for an entry level buyer.

Someday I'll drag my EPI 100v's out of storage and do a head to head. This series seems to have fans, but is definitely flying under the radar. Not a bad $3 investment at all!

 
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Not bad at all. I found a pair of T/E 100+ at goodwill a few months ago for $8. They were already refoamed, and I recapped them and braced the cabinets. They are great speakers, but I found the treble to be a little sibilant and bright for my tastes.

What amplifier are they paired with?
 
I agree with the OP. Decent speaker. I bought a pair of the T/E 100+, recapped, and refoamed. Impressed by the bass from the 8" driver. Very simple crossover;). They are a touch on the bright side, but with the right pairing...
 
Very nice! I'm surprised the Lexan coating on those woofers is still in tact. That, usually disintegrates and is impossible to repair.

A friend of mine has one of the large floorstanders in that series, the T/E 360s that sound amazing on an old Kenwood integrated and a Technics TT.

I'd also be curious as to how they compare to the EPI 100vs (have a pair of those in the fold).

Enjoy!
 
crazy-in-az said:
Not bad at all. I found a pair of T/E 100+ at goodwill a few months ago for $8. They were already refoamed, and I recapped them and braced the cabinets. They are great speakers, but I found the treble to be a little sibilant and bright for my tastes.

What amplifier are they paired with?
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I paired it with my Concept 4.5D and a Marantz Pro Audio transport. Since mine aren't re-capped that probably is dumbing down any brightness of the tweeter. (along with "vintage" ears).

I was surprised the coating was still in good shape on the woofers also. Not sure these speakers would be the best for critical listening, but for a dorm or party speaker you could do a lot worse.

Nice thing they seem to hold little value on the thrift/resale market. Good starter for someone getting into the hobby.
 
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Farmhand said:
It seems like all the iterations of the 100 are good. What do you all think?
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The EPI T/E 100 Series II look interesting. I think just made a couple of years 87-88? Not sure if the earlier drivers are just repackaged? Never listened to a pair, but would be interested in peoples impressions.

 
In my opinion, the T/E series are EPI 100's in name only. I picked up a pair of T/E 100's at an estate sale just to try them out. After refoaming and recapping, they lasted less than 1/2 an hour until they were put up for sale. An OK speaker but no comparison to the original EPI 100's.
 
There's a set of Series 3for sale near me for $40. The polycarbonate tweeters lead me to think they're not so hot.
 
colohiker said:
In my opinion, the T/E series are EPI 100's in name only. I picked up a pair of T/E 100's at an estate sale just to try them out. After refoaming and recapping, they lasted less than 1/2 an hour until they were put up for sale. An OK speaker but no comparison to the original EPI 100's.
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Truer words were never spoken. Once a truly great speaker company, EPI disintegrated into just another mediocre, mass producer after Winslow left in the late 70s. Everything that followed the original line was a step closer to pedestrian junk. It's sacrilege that these models even carried the same name as the original 100s.
 
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