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EPI Tower owners comments?


dynaco_dan

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Hi there

Does any reader own or ever owned EPI Towers from the '70's?

I sure would be interested in reading your comments or reviews.

I did have an opportunity or 2 to hear them in a stereo store only.

A local band ended up with these, as they kept blowing out all the AR-LST's tweeters.

Story was, they couldn't blow out The Towers drivers using master tapes.

Vern

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  • 1 year later...
Guest jameskz

I own a pair of EPI model 500's. I guess they could be called towers. I purchaed these in Newbury Port MA, along with a few other models. Even by today's standards they sound amazing, I love them.

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Guest bill18018

I just picked up a pair of EPI 400s....BUT...I haven't even listened to them yet. All of the surrounds need to be replaced. I am going to rebuild the crossovers too, so it could be a few weeks before they are ready to play. Please feel free to check back with me.

Bill, nota_lunatic@yahoo.com

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  • 4 months later...
Guest bill18018

Took me a bit but I got the 400s refoamed, rebuild, and tested out. The sound is clear and forceful. I was driving it at first with a Rotel RX850 receiver, which I think is 40WPC. Whereas it had some oomph in reserved, I think they would have benefitted well from a little more power. Having the sound coming out of all four sides really does create an air of realism I haven't heard from too many other speakers.

>I just picked up a pair of EPI 400s....BUT...I haven't even

>listened to them yet. All of the surrounds need to be

>replaced. I am going to rebuild the crossovers too, so it

>could be a few weeks before they are ready to play. Please

>feel free to check back with me.

>Bill, nota_lunatic@yahoo.com

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  • 1 month later...

Hi there;

I was surfing the internet the other night and found some interesting Tower photos.

A fellow was modifying his Towers, including a cabinet lead outer shielding, to reduce vibrations.

He took a number of photos of his project.

I see now see that the cabinet is not 4 single chambers, one per woofer/tweeter, at least that is what I was thinking all of these years.

Rather the entire enclosure has 3 horizontal stiffening baffles with large openings to allow air movement and the passage of the cables.

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  • 1 year later...
Guest Loudspeaker
Hi there

Does any reader own or ever owned EPI Towers from the '70's?

I sure would be interested in reading your comments or reviews.

I did have an opportunity or 2 to hear them in a stereo store only.

A local band ended up with these, as they kept blowing out all the AR-LST's tweeters.

Story was, they couldn't blow out The Towers drivers using master tapes.

Vern

V,

I owned a floor model matched pair of the EPI 100s. They were awesome with their omnidirectional sound. Somewhat mellow versus bright, but they could handle the power. I sold them about mid 90s for $400 the pair. Wished I had them again, but I don't need two sets of towers - my other set are ESS Transtatic I towers.

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Guest crusty
Hi there

Does any reader own or ever owned EPI Towers from the '70's?

I sure would be interested in reading your comments or reviews.

I did have an opportunity or 2 to hear them in a stereo store only.

A local band ended up with these, as they kept blowing out all the AR-LST's tweeters.

Story was, they couldn't blow out The Towers drivers using master tapes.

Vern

Hold on to those original EPI woofers. Have them refoamed. There is nothing being sold as replacements that are really the same. Julian Hirsh's 1970 test of the original EPI 100 gave a impressive woofer fs of 18 hertz and system fs of 43 hertz. Very respectable for a 8 inch woofer especially in 1970.

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  • 2 years later...

I'm not sure EPI made too many bad sounding speakers in the late 70's. The towers are no exception. I have the 250's and really want another pair. I bought mine in 1979 and still amaze everyone with them today. You have some nice speakers!

BTW, I wish I still had my good old Rotel amp :)

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Do micro towers count.lol.I just picked up a pair of mt 1's and a pair of mt 2's.1 pair has 2 4 1/2" full range and 2 tweeters each and the other just has 2 4 1/2 full range per box.Sadly all the tweeters are blown.The pair with no tweeters is quite impressive sounding.

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  • 9 months later...

I presently have three pairs of towers, and 2 sets of mini-towers.

The 1000's are quite impressive visually and sonically. I'm glad that they are, because they were a huge PITA to restore because of the size and weight.

I thought that they might have a single-note deep bass response because of the organ pipe effect of the tall skinny cabinets, but they dont. Bass seems smooth and natural to me.

I also really like my pair of Epicure 400+'s. They will not go quite as low or loud as the 1000's, but for normal listening, I like them at least as much as the 1000's.

The EPI version of the 400 has been a huge disappointment to me. I've had 2 pairs, and didn't like either. Really, they're not bad, but I expected them to sound like the nearly identical Epicure 400+, and they definitely don't.

Having restored both types, the only significant difference that I see is the placement of the drivers in the cabinets. On the Epicure version, the tweeters are near the top of the cabinet, and the woofers are right underneath them. On the EPI version, the drivers are more than a foot lower in the cabinets, with the top of the tweeters near the midpoint of the cabinet.

I also have pairs of MT2's and MT3's. They sound nice for what they are, but not quite enough for a main system. My son uses the MT3's because they fit easily in his crampt apartment. The MT2's are collecting dust.

I once had a pair of 500's, but those are not the old-school modular EPI types. They are more of a conventional design. Large woofer and passive radiator. Not to my taste at all. Very boomy in the bass.

In one of my systems I use 2 pairs of M250's stacked up to make towers. They are near the corners of the room, with the bottom pair facing the walls, and the top pair facing the room. I consider the 202/250 to be EPI's best sounding dual module speaker, and stacking them this way makes them sound even better. Similar to the 400+, but more difficult to place in a room.

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  • 2 months later...

I have helped move M1000's more than once but have yet to manage to hear a pair. Anyone in Michigan or SW Ontario have a pair I could hear some day? Would have loved (would love) to own a pair.

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Hi there

My only in-store demo of them was during the '70's, very, very impressive, but not with a good WAF.

You will be moved with the right demo, too.

AR-LST's were going through all their 8 tweeters under warrantee, fused even, playing back master tapes.

They were unable to destroy the 1000's at equal or higher levels.

This is certainly not how to judge a quality speaker, just un-fused robustness.

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Hi there

My only in-store demo of them was during the '70's, very, very impressive, but not with a good WAF.

You will be moved with the right demo, too.

AR-LST's were going through all their 8 tweeters under warrantee, fused even, playing back master tapes.

They were unable to destroy the 1000's at equal or higher levels.

This is certainly not how to judge a quality speaker, just un-fused robustness.

I'm sure they sounded very good indeed. I own several pair of EPI, 50, 100 and 202 (all the original module type) and they sound super. I am sure the 1000 with the greater depth and serious driver surface would have been really impressive. A set in my living room would be most welcome!

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  • 7 months later...

My first stereo speaker was the Dynaco A25, but my second and third were Epicure 100s. The A25 was nice enough for a dorm room, but power hungry and not especially dynamic. I loved those 100s. Sold the first pair to a fellow in Montreal about the time I graduated from McGill, the replacement set a few years later to a record rep who threw in a few extra albums to clinch the deal. I didn't mind losing the 100s as the Epicure rep (whose stuff I couldn't convince the store's buyer to carry) wanted to sell his 400 minitower (mini only compared to the monster 1000). It had one blown tweeter, but he arranged for Epicure to send me a replacement. I first put those monsters in my bedroom, then my folks' living room. Very big sound, and - testing it with a calibrated mic and meter borrowed from an audio store where I was then working - a frequency response that was surprisingly flat. But the sound changed (and for the worse) if angled 45 degrees (corners pointing to the walls).

I held onto the 400s for just a year when I had the opportunity to buy a new set of Allisons for a little over dealer cost (since I was "in the business"). Probably should have gotten the Fours, but went with the Twos. Loved 'em. Smaller, more room-friendly, and more natural sounding than the Epicures. But I was about to move to DC, so had to leave all my A/V behind until I found a place and arranged renter's insurance. That done, it was all packed up and shipped. Everything arrived except ... those nearly new Allisons. Given their size, they were shipped bus freight, and they "disappeared" somewhere in the Carolinas.

After months later settling with insurance for the loss, I spent more months looking for a suitable replacement. I found a not very used set of Allison Ones, which 30+ years I still have and use. (I also have Celestion and Outlaw.) Still would have rather not lost those Twos.

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