Epos Epic 5 Floorstanding Two-Way Loudspeaker

The Epic 5 is the elegant floor-standing model in this new range of loudspeakers from Epos. This 2 1/2 way design holds true to Epos’s purist principles of simple crossover, well-behaved drive units and clean understated aesthetics yet delivers a big-speaker performance way above its price point.

At first glance, the Epic range harks back to an 80’s look, but with a modern twist. Epos uses a high-quality vinyl wood veneer to produce a high-end appearance whilst keeping the Epic’s entry-level price point in mind.

Design
Uniquely, the top section of its front baffle presents two surprisingly different faces. Straight out of the box the Epic 5 is supplied with an audiophile baffle with no visible fixing screws, grille-fixing holes or cloth. The baffle is machined around the woofer to create a gently contoured horn shape and, unlike a conventional grille frame; there are no added obstructions or sharp edges to cause reflections and sound colorations.

In the carton you will also find an optional cloth-covered grille. For those who don’t like looking at loudspeaker drivers, this is the ideal compromise. The spare grille has the same audible reflection-free advantages found in the ‘audiophile’ baffle, but elegantly hides the drivers under a fine acoustically transparent cloth, providing protection to the more delicate parts of the speaker.

The top section of the front baffle of the Epic 5 can be changed in a unique way. The Illustration shows the baffle removal tool in use. With light pressure, the topmost part of the front baffle will detach, allowing you to swap it as and when required.

Tweeter
Epos developed a new soft-dome tweeter for Epic – quite a landmark, because this is the first soft-dome tweeter in the history of the company. By using virtual performance CAD simulation tools, Epos has achieved very high performance, and a clean, open yet smooth sound quality which hits well above the tweeter’s price point.

The new tweeter has a low resonance frequency, high sensitivity and extended high frequency response. With its 25mm (one inch) fabric-dome, short horn, high-temperature ferro-fluid cooled voice-coil, and shielded neodymium magnet, it is capable of high output levels for extended periods without degradation to sound quality or itself.

Mid Bass
Epos has also developed a brand new 179mm (6 1/2 inch) 8 Ohm driver for the Epic 5, which produces an even frequency response and smooth roll off. This has a high-quality polypropylene cone and ‘bullet’-shaped dust cap. These form a stiff yet pliable, well-damped structure which retains its shape, even under high power operation. The two woofers operate in parallel at low frequencies to produce astonishing levels and depths of bass, while the lower woofer is rolled off gently above a few hundred Hz, leaving the upper drive unit to work as a mid-range. Both woofers at loaded at low frequencies, using a very large diameter port, flared at both ends to avoid turbulence.

The Epic 5 is a very sensitive 4 Ohm speaker with clear and powerful mid-range, very strong bass and high power handling, making it suitable for use with a wide range of amplifiers, from as small as 20 watts to as large as 200 watts.

Crossover
In typical Epos fashion, the Epic 5 crossover is as simple as we can make it: The woofer, woofer/mid and tweeter networks are all 2nd order filters. To ensure high sound quality, resistors in the tweeter and upper mid/woofer networks are metal oxide – a type rarely found in products at this price level. Also included are high-quality polypropylene capacitors, used for their superior sound quality. Inductors are designed for low distortion even at high powers: air-core for the tweeter and over-sized laminated-iron core for both woofers. The input terminals are gold plated and bi-wirable. It’s all in keeping with the Epos ethos of providing high quality at sensible prices.

This same ethos influences every part of the Epic 5, down to the very extensive vertical and horizontal internal bracing and rigid 18mm MDF cabinet, far in excess of typical rivals. Just pick it up to feel the weight. For enhanced stability and sound quality, a neat, contoured MDF plinth is included, complete with adjustable spikes.

Detail
We paid great attention to every single minute detail during the design of the Epic 5, to give customers the best sound at the best price. It comes as no surprise that this elegant speaker will have you in awe from the first note. In addition to the astonishing bass power, detail and depth, sound stage, depth and detail are truly exceptional, with a clarity that outshines the competition and many higher priced speakers.

The Epic 5 is a truly eye and ear-opening loudspeaker that will keep you enthralled listening to your favorite tracks for many years to come.

Epos Epic 5 Floorstanding Two-Way Loudspeaker Reviews

Hi-Fi Choice (via TechRadar.com) 5 Stars Hi-Fi Choice Recommended - by Ed Selley, July 2011

The flush panel helps make the Epic 5 one of the most stylish-looking speakers we have seen recently. Standing slightly under a metre tall with the plinth fitted, the Epic 5 is well proportioned and sufficiently unobtrusive to blend into most environments.

Placed clear of rear walls (we found that 15 to 20 centimetres was ideal) and with a few degrees of toe-in, the 5 is extremely impressive. The overriding impression it presents is one of cohesiveness across the full frequency spectrum with a very even response from top to bottom. The soft-dome tweeter works well and avoids any harshness or stridency even when pushed very hard. The Epic manages to flatter poor recordings without loosing detail on better ones, too.

The speaker also shows a fantastic tonality with vocals and instruments. Plucked strings and piano keys are tangible and entirely believable with excellent decay. Vocals are clean and easy to follow. The soundstaging is also very strong with the Epic able to present even very complex arrangements with a believable sense of the positioning of the artists and the space they are performing in.

But where the speaker excels is in the detail and texture that it gives to low frequencies; subtle detail that many speakers lose in the lower registers is easy to discern and there is no obvious overhang to low notes even during very hectic pieces, which further aids the sense of coherence.

Above all, the Epic 5 never fails to sound involving and entertaining. This is a very easy speaker to live with and enjoy sonically and one of the most enjoyable sub-£1,000 designs we have seen in a while.

When you combine this with its good looks, excellent build quality and unfussy placement, the Epic 5 has to be considered a worthy spiritual successor to the ES models of old and we have no hesitation in recommending it.

Epos Epic 5 Floorstanding Two-Way Loudspeaker Specifications

Power Handling 200 Watts unclipped speech and music
Frequency Range 45 Hz – 25 kHz
Impedance 4 Ohm nominal
Sensitivity 92dB / 2.83V@1m
Amplifier Compatibility 20 – 200 Watts
Positioning Not less than 10 cm (4”) from rear wall
Tweeter Epos 25mm soft dome with high-temperature voice coil, ferrofluid cooling and neodymium magnet system. Magnetically shielded
Bass/Midrange Drivers Epos mid bass 179mm, with 25mm high-temperature voice coil and polypropylene cone.
Crossover Bass and tweeter cross-over with 2nd order filters. Tweeter network uses Metal Oxide resistor, polypropylene film capacitor and air-core inductor. Woofer networks feature large-core laminated-iron inductors and polypropylene film by-pass capacitors (with Metal Oxide resistor in mid/bass network).
Terminal Panel Gold-plated and Bi-wirable. Can be single or double wired by removing shorting links provided.
Internal wiring 18 AWG stranded cable.
Cabinet 18mm MDF wrap and front baffle, extensively braced internally
Finish Cherry or Black Ash vinyl veneer
Grilles Removable ‘audiophile’ grille fitted as standard, Grille–removal tool included. Alternative cloth-covered grilles are packed as accessories
Size HxWxD – mm / in. 915 x 210 x 320 / 36 x 8.3 x 12.6 (Cabinet only) 980 x 286 x 380mm (including plinth)
Weight 19.7 kg / 43.4 lb per single speaker
Packaged One per carton