Sound for dollar, woodwork, cabinet, build quality.

grill covers an after-thought

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.

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B&W speakers ADS

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

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

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

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.

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lots..

I promised a follow-up review, so here goes.

First, I can't say enough about the need to break these speakers in. Run them in for at least 30-40 hours before you contemplate serious listening. They sound a bit rough and unrefined straight out of the box. Bass will come across as a bit soft, driver integration will seem less than ideal, and images may tend to wander.

But oh, what a difference a few days make!! After a 30 hour burn in period that involved playing music at soft to moderate listening levels, I noticed some rather striking changes. The overall sound "mellowed" considerably. The sound from the three drivers became more coherent, better integrated. Musical images, at first confined to the speaker boxes, were now liberated beyond the box confines. Well-recorded works now reveal palpable soundstaging that, while generally fine, still lack the razor-sharp precision of the best mini-monitors.

Of course, mini-monitors sometimes exaggerate this aspect of their performance. It could be that the ES 22s simply reproduce what is in the recording, neither adding nor substracting significantly from what the recording engineer intended. In any event, the ES 22s possess a sounstage that is expansive, well-layered, and full of useful ambient cues and details, creating a convincing analog of the real thing.

I observed other important improvements across the frequency spectrum. The speaker's bass response in particular showed significant improvements. My first impressions were of a speaker that, while well extended and generally well-balanced, tended to sound a bit bass-heavy. More recent Verve releases from Joe Henderson and Shirley Horn, with their fat bass and warm balance, tended to overwhelm.

Two things changed this tendency to plumpness. First, I installed the manadatory spikes to the speaker bases, raising each speaker nearly an inch above my carpeted listening room floor. Second, I followed the manufacturer's break-in instructions and avoided critical listening for a couple of days. Bass response is now tight, palpable and well-integrated with the mid-bass and lower midrange regions. The ES 22s initial tendency to bloat has all but vanished. I now detect useful extension down to about 40hz, maybe a bit lower.

The speaker's midrange performance has also improved considerably. At first, I noticed a slightly recessed or "cupped-hands" quality in this region. Male voices sounded a bit muffled and distant. After the mandatory break-in period, those same voices now sound clearer, with greater focus and clarity. I suspect that this is a result of the drivers achieving proper integration during the mandatory break-in period.

As you no doubt have gathered, I am enthralled by the performance of my almost fully broken-in 22s. Bass is now tight and well-defined, the midrange transparent and remarkably open. High freqencies are there in full measure, but they never shout at you. The ES 22s do present treble details more clearly than the smaller 11s and 12s, especially upper midrange and high frequency ambient information. On closely recorded classical works in particular, this sometimes results in a tendency to emphasize high frequency "white noise." However, I don't perceive this as a high frequency coloration. I simply think the 22s are reproducing information on the disc that I didn't, or couldn't, hear before.

On a final note, I must take issue with those reviewers that find the 22s somewhat power hungry. I am driving my speakers with Musical Fidelity's A220 Class A Integrated Amplifier. The amp puts out 75 watts/rms into the ES 22s nominal 6 ohm load, and does a beautiful job controlling the lower frequencies. In this setup, the speakers play as loudly as I would ever want (or need) to go.

I do agree that users should avoid mating these speakers with poor quality amps. However, I would venture to say that, in the average small to medium sized listening room, even a competent 40 watt unit might suffice. I also agree that these speakers will benefit from upstraem improvements. I just don't think these improvements are necessary to hear the Epos ES 22s doing their thing!!

Good listening, all!!

PS: I bought my 22s from the Audio Advisor for an unbelievable $1295/pair. Are dealers still sellings these admittedly beautiful speakers for the full MSRP of $2495?

The starting line-up:

* Musical Fidelity's A220 Class A Integrated Amplifier
* CEC 5100 Belt drive CD Player
* Linn Axis Table (is a Rega 25 in my future?)
* MIT terminator Interconnects
* DH Labs Silver Sonic speaker cables (bi-wire terminations feeding custom Epos midrange-to-tweeter jumpers)

See below, clear mids and high neutral and transparant.

See below

A follow up on the previous review after placing them with my neighbour in a larger room and better set-up. Still quite impressed with these speakers. My comments about spacious details (esp. front to back staging) vanished. These speaker give you all the details. Now I understand why some people suggested bass-shiness and power-hungriness. In a larger room these speaker may use some power from your amp to truly deliver a believable soundstage. But the very clear and uncolored bass also contributes to this i.m.o. Compared to the speakers of my neighbour (some very good large JM Labs) the Epos were lighter on the bass. But I think it is a matter of taste instead of a shortcoming since the bass is believable, very controlled and neutral. If you realy want to fill a large room with the full spectrum you need careful placement and preferably a good poweramp (or 2). Neutrallity and transparancy are the main advantages of this speaker. I was impressed with the detail in voices and small details like the transients of piano notes. Mids and hights were simply superp. Bass is in accordance with this. If you still find these speakers bass-light than move up to the ES30's or choose other speakers. With the latter option, be prepared to trade in the transparancy of the mids and hights or pay considerably more. With the right set-up they will simply play Music.

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See below

Tri-wireable, amazing imaging

A bit tough to drive, really should be tri-wired for best sound.

The Epos es22s have a wonderful rich sound throughout the range. My pair are tri-wired and are driven by a 6 channel, 60wpc B&K amp (each channel drives its own speaker) They took some time to break in (as did the custom cabling I needed to build) but the end product is truly an engaging listen.
They may not be every person's cuppa' tea (they are English) but I think I'll keep 'em. Thanks to Classic HiFi here in Edmonton for suggesting them.

Superb tonal neutrality and reproduction of instrumental timbres; startling dynamic contrasts; good imaging

Somewhat ill-defined lower bass

I took delivery of a new pair of ES 22s from the Audio Advisor yesterday and have some preliminay observations to make. Since my speakers have not properly broken in, my perceptions will almost certainly mature as the speakers settle in over the next 3-4 weeks.

In any event, it was clear from first listen that something special was going on here. The 22s have a way with instrumental timbers, especially woodwinds and brass, that borders on the uncanny. Oboes possess their characterstic bite and airiness, while trumpets reveal the expected blatiness that I hear during a live performance (I am a semi-professional musician so I know what the "real thing" sounds like).

Solo piano is especially impressive. Herbie Hancock's beautifully recorded solo on Wayne Shorter's haunting
"Fall" (from the 20 bit remastered Miles Davis CD "Nefertiti")posseses a weight and delightful sonority that startled me. I was similarly impressed by the naturalness of Peter Hill's solo piano work on Naxos' superb recording of the music of Schoenberg, Webern and Berg (Naxos 8.553870). The ES 22s captured the preceise leading edges and decay of every note.

The dynamic perfomance of this speaker deserves special mention. At low to moderately loud playback levels, its performance is nothing short of world class. Convincing dynamic contrasts have nothing to do with a speakers ultimate output. What matters is the transducer's ability to convincingly portray micro-dynamic shadings, its ability to ditinguish between mezzo-forte and forte, for example. The ES 22s do this as well as any speaker I have ever heard, and I suspect its performance will improve in this regard over the next couple of weeks.

Images is fine, on par with the ES 11 in most areas, if slightly more expansive. I'm still not convinced that these floorstanders possess the specificity of some small monitors, but the jury is still out.

I'll discuss other key performance parameters in a follow-up review.

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

- 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.

- 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.

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- Magnepan's, Von Schweikert's, Celestion 700's.

Very Neutral for all kinds of music, all together sound which gives great insight in musical timbre.

A very little less spacious than others (may depend on source components I use), needs a lot (2x3)of good cables.

Having the opportunity to buy this model for half the price I didn't hesitate very long after 2 auditionings. This is a speaker so very neutral, fast and integrated that they don't attract you from the music you're playing. They give beautiful insight in the music and makes you appreciate instead of analyse the disks you are spinning.

The units match seamlesly, a great compliment for a 3 way system. Probably because of the choice of identical drivers for bas and mid and very careful filtering inside ( I understood only 2 components are used for filtering the bas and tweeter and none for the midrange which is accoustically filtered and therefore direct onto the amp) Maybe this is why the midrange and voices are very articulate and fast without getting nasal or annoying. Same goes for the tweeter which is very detailed and present but never overpresent.

If this is not the case with other users I think they have to look for better sources, amps or cables because I'm sure you cannot blame the speaker for this. Be prepared than because these speakers allow tri-wiring/amping so you need a lot of them. I don't know if bi or in this case triamping gives better results compared to bi/triwiring. what I do know is that these speakers are not a very difficult load for your amp.

Currently I am playing with a Rega Planet and Rega Mira Amp and they do just fine. My room is not very large so the amp doesn't have to work very hard to fill my room. Maybe when I move to another (bigger) apartment I rethink this setup. I am certain that the speakers will reveal better quality Cd-player and amp. Untill that time I'm quite happy.

About the bass, this speaker isn't bass-heavy nor light. I stuffed the bass-ports with a few socks because of my room. They give me very neutral and detailed bass which goes quite deep. Soon I will place them in the larger room of my neighbour and remove the socks. I'm anxious to see what they are capable of then.

Compared to other speakers I just appreciated the bass more and more because it goes deep but stays neutral and in focus even when you crank up the volume. Compared to my other speakers (Impulse which is dutch)I found these speakers a bit less spacious esspecially in depth. This may heavily depend on my amp, maybe it is working harder than before after all.

Very much recommended!

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Many: JM Lab Cobalt series, KEF Reference, Totem Staff/Rokk/One, and others

Smooth, detailed sound with the right amount of punch when neccessary. When auditioning these I found that they outperfomed significently more expensive speakers. Great soundstage and fine midrange resulting in an extremely involving experience.
I bought them in the context of a Naim set-up (what else?) and they offer a real alternative to similarly priced Naim speakers. Their sound isn't quite as, for want of a better word, harsh.