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Epi M50


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  • 6 years later...
Guest Loudspeaker
Looking for reviews on the epi 50, how do they sound, ect. Seems like a great little speaker...

I purchased a new floor model matched pair in the 70s. I then later sold them to my sis for $100. I recently repurchased them back for $40. They are a little beat up, but nothing that a bit of stain and elbow grease can't fix.

These are wonderful sounding shelf speakers. They are heavy in weight @ 15 lbs. each. See link: http://www.humanspeakers.com/e/epi50.htm

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  • 3 years later...

The 50's are awesome little speakers, especially in a smaller room. I first heard them in the early to mid 70's. I walked into a stereo store and was quite impressed by the speakers that were playing. I looked around to try and figure out which of the big speakers were playing, and was very surprised to find that it was the tiny M-50's. That is what hooked me on EPIs. I walked out of the store with a demo pair of M-100's (which I still have).

I presently use a pair of M'50's in my master bathroom, driven by a vintage Pioneer car stereo that I mounted in a wood box.

I also mounted 2 pairs of M'50's in the ceiling of my basement to provide surround sound for the TV.

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  • 2 months later...

I have owned my pair of 50's since I bought them new in the mid-70s. Until probably 1988 they were my only pair of speakers and were called upon to fill a huge variety spaces with good music including a 3,000 sq. ft. loft I lived in for a few years. Great sounding speakers. In some ways I actually like them better than my 100s. A couple of years ago they got recapped and upgraded wire and now sound better than ever in my kitchen system with an Onkyo TX 4500 mkII. Great match!

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  • 5 years later...
3 hours ago, Tom Pagan said:

There was nothing I didn't like about these.

Way to go in resuscitating a thread that's been dead for 5-1/2 years! As an admirer of great small loudspeakers, I'd love to find a pair of these, too. I have an early pair of EPI M100's, but these little guys have a very special charm. 

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  • 1 year later...

I own a pair of original EPI-150's that I purchased new in the mid-70s.  I have dragged these EPIs around the world during my 25-year USAF career and still love them.  I am now going through a phase of collecting Klipsch bookshelf and smaller floor models to play with.  Most of these I resell after enjoying them for a bit.

After searching around off and on for two years, I finally scored a mint pair of EPI M50's that came with a pair of 10'-high stands.  I set them up on my ESS Tower speakers and played a few selections of my vintage rock and smooth jazz CDs.  I confess my eyes "watered" a bit as I sat and listened to these joyous little "Mites".  It is impossible to describe the "BIG" sound these little beauties produce.  I was actually hearing music off the walls beside me.  My wife that just tolerates my music obsessions actually sat down to listen for a while, she looked at me and said "OK... these you can keep"... "I really like them!"  I have only had these one week and I can't wait until everyone has sailed out of the house so I can fire them up for another day of the sweetest sounds.

Now I have a problem...

A guy 30 minutes from me has another pair of mint M50s for sale.  ...and yes I have spoken for them. His wife is having shoulder surgery so I pick them up Friday.  My wife is going to kill me! 

(Running a 46-year old Nikko rack system (230-watt Alpha, Beta 50, EQ-20, Gamma 30) with a Denon SACD/DVD Player for spinning SACD/CDs, an old Thorens Turntable, and a 50-year old TEAC reel-to-reel)

EPI-M50.jpg

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  • 7 months later...

Nice looking speakers Woofer_01. I’m sure they sound great too. You might want to consider changing the single 10 microfarad capacitor in the crossover since it’s at least 40 years old. 
 

I have a set of M100’s with walnut cabinets that I’m really thrilled with. They both look and sound terrific. I’ve been on the hunt for a set of M50’s online for about a year and would love to get a pair at a reasonable price someday. 
 

According to Huw Powell at the Human Speakers website, some of the early model EPI speakers were sometimes badged as Epicure and “...no one knows why.”
 

Good luck with them and thanks for posting photos!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Norman... Thanks for the reponse... I have been working on one set of my EPI M50s this weekend.  One set was previously opened up and they look like they might have been redone with updated rubber surrounds. I have not pulled the woofers out to look at the crossover yet on that pair.

I have decided to start my tear down of the otherset which is in an original state. Observations so far... The grills are a "pain in the *ss" to break free.  The 6" woofer surrounds on this first speaker is also rubber... but of a poorer quality and not quite as wide as the ones I found on the other pair.  Inspite of this, they are still pliable and servicable for now.  I have never tried to remove a rubber surround and I suspect the paper cone does nor enjoy the process.  

The cabinet was in really good shape, but it is getting a little TLC while it is apart.  I have a new set of speaker connectors on order to better fit the round "factory-bored" access hole in the back panel. 

Just a note about the Crossovers... yes, they use a 10uF cap like most of the other EPI 2-way speakers, BUT on the M50,  the caps are in series with a 5-ohm resistor. I suspect this is deigned to throttle back the tweeters to better match up with the smaller 6" woofers. 

Check out my other post in this group documenting the rebuild of three  EPI M180V speakers.

Pictures of the crossover work...

The round connection panel hole possed an interesting challenge... The usual terminal block I normally use would not allow room for attachment of the original factory Serial number tag. This is an item I feel that is important to keep with the speaker.  I decided to locate the masonite input/crossover board lower and use the space abover the EPI logo for the input terminals. This arrangement allowed room for the label too. These spring loaded connectors are really handy and allow quick connections with 'Pin Jacks" mounted on the speaker wires. I was a bit concerned about how far out the connectors protrude out the back of the speaker.  Last picture shows the clearance when the connectors are depressed to insert the "Pin Jack".  Once they snag the Pin Jack,  the clearance issue is minimal.

Cabinet work... Baffle Board ready to be painted

EPI-50_19890_5.thumb.jpg.8d4b5cc876615fc49c28e48d3704a2ee.jpg

Crossover layout and connection complete

EPI-50_19890_6.jpg

Ready to stick inside speaker using doublesided tape and fasten with 1/2" screws. Label is attached

EPI-50_19890_7.jpg

Clearance issue - which is not a problem once speaker wires attached

EPI-50_19890_9.jpg

A look at the layout... centering is a tad off... (oh well)

EPI-50_19890_8.jpg

Speaker wires attached to check clearance issues.  I really like how easy to is to attach these speaker wires using these pin jacks

EPI-50_19890_10.jpg

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