smu1976

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1295.00 from Audio Advisor

Summary:
What a great speaker for such a small footprint and size. Driving with an old Accuphase Amp Hafler Pre-Amp. Tight, great sound-stage, super price. Great craftmanship, beautiful cabinets.

Strengths:
Sound for dollar, woodwork, cabinet, build quality.

Weaknesses:
grill covers an after-thought

Similar Products Used:
B&W speakers ADS

Price Paid:  $1295.00 from Audio Advisor

Summary:
Amplification and the ES 22: One Listener's Experience I recently retired my long-discontinued Mucical Fidelity A220 integrated amp in favor of an Aragon 28K MkII/Parasound A23 pre-amp/amp combo. I had been aware for some time that the A220 lacked the "balls" to properly drive the ES22s, but I had no idea how much music I was missing as a result. With the new amp/pre-amp combo in the mix, the ES 22's performance envelope has been upped an order of magnitude. Gone is the persistent sense of dynamic strain that defined the 22's sound through the A220. The A23 delivers roughly 175 watts/per ch. into the 22's nominal 6 ohm load, and the added headroom has liberated the speakers. Soundstaging and imaging were the first big improvements. With the new electronics, the 22's now image beautifully. Nice depth, wide soundstaging and precise placement of images. This is one speaker that really doesn't shine in this area unless it is properly driven. The second big improvement is in the PRAT category. Epos speakers, certainly the older models, have always enjoyed a reputation for conveying the underlying tension and rythmic drive that distinguish good sound from emotionally compelling reproduced sound. The new electronics fully exploit the rythmic verve. Instruments now possess a wonderful snap, a dynamic vibrancy that is really quite addictive. Listen to a well-recorded jazz album with a naturally miked acoustic bass to hear what I mean. Charlied Haden's beautifully recorded bass on "Beyond the Missouri Sky" (with Pat Methany)now has a lovely tonal roundness, this coupled to a striking sense of leading edge transient detail followed by a natural sense of instrumental decay that is stunning. Well-recorded piano reordings also possess this alluring combination of tonal roundness, transient quickness and natural decay. Some of the more recent Standard Trio recordings on ECM are all good candidates here. Some credit must go to the Parasound A23 power amplifier. The A23 does a wonderful job conveying the rythmic energy of well-recorded music. And check out how well it reproduces brass instruments. Man, that John Curl is a $#$*&& genius. The lesson here to ES 22 owners, and one that took me a while to learn is this: do not compromise the performance envelope of your speakers by mating them with malnourished amplification. Give the 22s what they need, guttsy, smooth power, and they will reward with a lively, energetic sound that few speakers at its price-point can match. The starting line-up: * Aragon 28 Mk II pre-amp * Parasound A23 power amp * CEC 5100 Belt drive CD Player (using a dowdy 20 bit DAC that still sounds great) * Rega 25/Rega exact phono combo (Grado PH-1 phono amp an order) * MIT terminator and Kimber Hero Interconnects * DH Labs Silver Sonic speaker cables (bi-wire terminations feeding custom Epos midrange-to-tweeter jumpers) * Salamander equipment racks

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
The Epos is fast, and at times you''d wonder if the speed is exaggerated. Detail retrieval is excellent and the layering is very distinct. The best thing about it is its ability to separate instruments, creating a soundfield that is uncluttered. Most loudspeakers can resolve detail well, but fails to present a clear picture of the actual soundstage. Vocal is exceptional, well rounded and stands out in the presentation. On fast tracks, the bass is low, strong and extended, however positioning is an absolute pain in small rooms and the tendency for bass booms is highly likely. Needs to be triwired for best result no doubt.

Strengths:
Fast, dynamic and excellent detail retrieval. Good bass extension, goes low.

Weaknesses:
Low bass can sometimes be overwhelming treble can be a little over the edge on certain recordings

Similar Products Used:
lots..

Price Paid:  $1400.00

Summary:
- Even since buying these, I've allowed my subscriptions to all the silly equipment mags lapse. I mean, who cares about gear if you're happy? Entirely musically satisfying, every day, with every type of music from gentle classical to electronica to punk industrial.
- They need some beef to drive them, but will accept anything from beefy SE triodes to good FET amps happily.
- assoc equip: theta digital front end, classe preamp, MFA D-75 tube amp or Pass aleph 30 SS, Nordost cable tri-wired.

Strengths:
- balance between musical detail and gentle handling of suboptimal source music.
- dynamics - micro and macro.
- simply amazing midrange on vocals, jazz.

Weaknesses:
- can choke and become unbalanced above moderately loud listening levels. But if you're listening that loud, you're just having fun anyway and really don't care.
- detail and retrieval below the big expensive high end dynamic speakers or the fussy ribbon stuff.

Similar Products Used:
- Magnepan's, Von Schweikert's, Celestion 700's.

Price Paid:  $2100.00 from Audio By design

Summary:
First a note about bass,these speakers go low and do so quickly,tightly,and with plenty of punch.If I felt the need I would add a veodyne 10" to my system,belive me this would cure any bass issues.

these speakers need high quality electronics to make them sound good. Period!! And dont over do it with the power! these epos 22's only need 100 watts max per speaker!!
Believe me when I tell you this because I blew the mids and had to replace them (I was stupidly driving them with 200 watts!) Since then I've learned to really appreciate these speakers. they take forever to break in ,but when they do they will reproduce all the subtle nuances and truly kick butt too!!! I listen to jazz and rock mainly and some r&b and classical.ES22's are a real steal right now to. I love these speakers so much I bought 2 more!

source equipment:
Cal Labs Icon mkll PowerBoss CD
McIntosh C15 Pre
McIntosh 7104 4ch Power Amp (100 watts per spk)
4-Epos 22's
Kimber cables
Audioquest Crystal Tri-wired

Strengths:
Beautiful,Small,Light,BIG SOUND!

Weaknesses:
Low Bass

Similar Products Used:
Mirage M-3, McIntosh XR-5,XR-7's