EPI 100 Restoration

[Curtdr]

On 12/30/2019 at 11:16 AM, Vicious-Poodle said:

Hello, Martin. I'm surprised that you like the EPI 100 given your praise of Dynaco speakers (not that I don't admire the restoration done here, great work) but these were really highly reviewed by Consumers Reports. I remember rude high pressure sales people, now out of business decades later, they denigrated the Dynaco A25 they had to demo against, along with the AR-2AX. 

Personally, I found them too bright (didn't an AR designer say "Who would want to listen to a flat to 20KH speaker?) and monochromatic: I couldn't hear details I heard on the USS driver Dynaco, differences between recording studios and techniques, voices weren't as pleasant, etc.

In fact, probably a better cheaper choice now is this much hyped Elac Debut, not as bright to me as EPI 100.

https://audioplacebo.com/elac-debut-2-0-b6-2-review/

I'm using Emotiva UMC-200 for digital sources, and changed to Emotiva BasX amplifiers, the Chesky demo disk is heart breaking because their recording techniques leave the big labels in the shade, I wish so many great singers and performers had engineers with their talents. 

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Demonstration-Disc-Critical-Listening/dp/B00002MXUH

Anyway, I wish you all a Happy New Year. I think the retro speakers might outperform in musicality many of these modern offerings but I wasn't fond of EPI. Not as bullet proof as the Dynacos.  Foam surrounds, etc. And that harsh character I noted. Accuracy is more than "flat" response, IMHO.

Harsh character...??? the Epi 100s?  No way.  That'd have to be your electronics, being revealed.

[Norman Nicolai]

My EPI 100’s are never harsh, either. If anything, they tend to have just slightly rolled off highs. Every review I have ever read describes them as having a flat frequency response. They are also non-fatiguing to listen to, which to me is their strongest virtue.

I restored a first generation set of EPI 100’s a couple of years ago and they are a joy to listen to. My speakers have the original tweeter, rubber surrounds, and beautiful walnut cabinets. The only thing I disliked was the black fabric on the speaker grill, which I replaced  with an off white linen. Because of the replacement speaker grill, they don’t look like EPI 100’s, but they certainly sound like them. I would be crazy to ever part with them.

[stan461]

I have 2 pair of the original walnut EPI 100s with rubber surrounds on the woofers. However, I do like the black grills. I agree that they are non fatiguing and very neutral. The bass is tight but not as deep as the large Advent or AR2ax that I also own. The Advents have an edge in the upper frequencies and the AR2AX are more colored but with a better and more pronounced midrange than the Advents. Each speaker does things a little differently but all have that acoustic suspension sound that I find very pleasing and engaging. I call it the "you are there" sound as opposed to the "they are here" presentation. I listen to mostly classical music. I have been looking to add an upgraded speaker but these days what we are stuck with are on-line reviews and almost to a man what these guys listen to are loud hard rock, Jazz and female singers like Diana Krall. I miss the days of going to Lafayette Electronics, Sam Goodys and the many "HiFi" stores where there were listening rooms and you could actually evaluate the speaker for yourself. It's also true that there are way too many speakers for any store to showcase them all. The ones that do around here are high end with very high prices. 

In the meantime, I'm enjoying these 3 models as I swap them out and in every couple of months. After all, at least for me, the music comes first.

Good post Norman!