Epos ES11

Just wondering and being a little curious. Which Naim amp does the ES11 sound good with?

S.

These are still on my "to hear" list. I've missedmoutbon a few pairs owned by mates. Same with AE1s. we just keep missing each other.

There is definitely a lot of snobbery out there and I have no doubt that there will be some pro amps that are absolute killers. When you see the internal build of some, you could add another zero if they had hifi credentials. I once had a high power pro amp that had been built into a nice case and fitted with a volume control. It was excellent and as good as any high power amp I've had. It developed a minor fault so I let it go to a mate who has more skills than me. I'd like to hear more pro amps out of curiosity but I'm seriously considering settling with the Sonneteer amp and CD. Whilst I still buy other things, most don't even get a listen and nothing even tempts me to change. That's unusual for me.

I think this while issue of sounding g good at lower volumes is the Sonneteers strength. They are the best I have come across at sounding the same at all levels. Most amps have a narrow sweet spot. As a result I have tended to listen pretty loud and found almost every amp disappointing at lower levels.

Yes. The ES14 in first form was around 1985 I seem to remember but they didn't become really popular until 86 or 87 I recall, when he tweaked them more for a Linn/Naim market/dealer-base use.

The ES11 came a little later (I think shortly before he sold out to Mordaunt Short's) and the tweeter balance returned to 'subtle' rather than 'lively.'

When Epos started, Robin had a Krell KSA50 at home (don't know the rest), but he went over to a Naim 250 to keep with the 'dealer in-crowd' at the time. His view on amps I think, was more that they were a tool to amplify the music to the speakers and nothing more. Last I heard he used JBL Array speakers at home, but that was a good few years ago now.

Now now!!!

Do you want me to continue telling tales from my audio past, or just disappear up my arse and shut the eff up?

ElS14s with a KSA50! Now that would be something to drool over.

Don't apologise, it's great and what forums should be about. Several people have said FPB is special. My "ship" may have sailed though, as I seem to be enjoying the sound I have and even when j have new stuff here, I just don't seem to have the appetite to listen. For the first time ever, I have a sound that is as good at low volume as it is at any volume. Everythjng else seems to have a small "operating window" Beyoncé which its either lacking body or shouting at you.

My 'HiFi-ship' sailed when I got married. A high price to pay for an audio-aspergic like me, but I'd have been hellish lonely had I not taken the route I did.

After talking about £250k stereos recently as if they're commonplace all over (they do sell regularly to UK clients I'm told), I do miss my old job (don't have a go DQ, it's all I really know...) and feel a bit fed up with my mostly geriatric systems - and then I play some music through them and they're not so bad after all

Yes my understanding is that the ES11 and ES14 were voiced on Naim NAP250's for their sins.

However, I found they worked with Exposure even better than Naim personally.

I think I've covered it here, but as I understand it directly from the horses mouth and via three sets I had on loan it goes like this -

First ES14's had metal front plates, brown coloured to match the walnut cabinets on my first pair, an all-in-one bass cone similar to the Celestion SL6 and powerful magnet strength optimising the sound for free space mounting with ports open, giving a gentler high frequency performance in the manner of a Harbeth or smaller Spendor (these latter Spendor models were too lush for rock music though, but I digress) Blocking these ports to control bass killed the midrange and started me off thinking about how drivers need to be mated to the cabinets (ported or sealed and not just the cabinet size) and even crossovers for best all-round performance - another thread subject here methinks...

Next, Robin got good vibes from The Flat Response magazine (Naim sponsored flat earth rag), bought a 32.5/HiCap/250 and an LP12 and after being asked to make the speakers better for close to wall mounting, he lowered the strength of the driver magnets to loosen up the bass unit and then started gluing the port bungs in as this was how he saw the driver loaded best. The tweeter came up in level a touch with the reduced midrange output and the speaker became more popular I remember.

Lastly, Robin did more work on the bass driver, the all-in-one cone was replaced by a conical pole piece extension to improve the main driver at the top of it's range. The midrange was reduced further (2db I gather) and instead of attenuating the tweeter down, Robin changed the cap feeding it to bring the highs in later, this giving the final ES14 its slightly raw sparkle. Reproduction of string tone wasn't hugely affected by this added sparkle though and of course Linn/Naim people loved it, as did I using valve gear! Putting in a 'better' tweeter cap lifted the tweeter sparkle even more and more top isn't necessarily better! Robin and I chatted often about taking the port bungs out and he laughed at my compromise in putting said bungs in sideways. He stopped gluing them as 'everyone' removed them and as few speakers at the time and onwards did bass properly, people preferred a one-note boom for bass instead - and still do judging by the godawful booming noises many modern tower speakers have even today.

Robin started talking about the tweeter getting out of date (I'm wondering if he got some bits from Celestion myself, but never put two and two together) and would have done more work on it had he not been head-hunted and bought out by Mordaunt-Short and promptly removed from Epos design and manufacture from then on - I think the ES11 was the last model he designed although I think Mordaunt-Short made them. When M-S went into heavy re-structuring and Robin left, he asked for Epos back and was refused, the current company now a Creek offshoot made in China (for pennies I suspect).

So, Robin first used a Krell KSA50 based system until the Naimies got switched on, so he changed his home system around his dealer clients' needs. He wasn't ever a Linn or Naim fan going back to the early 70's when Naim started (he took the piss something chronic out of me when I bought my first LP12/G707 in 1976 from Jimmy Hughes when Jimmy was at Grahams), but by the mid 80's I suspect he wanted to get into the average Naim dealer's hippy head to see where they were at at the time...

I read Dave’s post differently. I just see a guy trying to make his speakers work with the most prevalent equipment of the day. At the time, I chatted to David at the Sound Org about his encounters with Robin. I recall he was initially set on heavy pillar stands and free space placement. Having heard his speakers on frame stands with Naim and Exposure amps, he was persuaded they might be more suited to this setup.

No speaker has any sound of its own. It relies on source and amplification as well as cabling and supports. The Epos actually added a dimension to flat earth kit, so I’m pleased he tuned them accordingly because there was a lot I liked about them in combo with such kit. His earlier MA852 design was similar to ES14 in many ways but it never sounded as special. Maybe without the Linn Naim devotees input, the Epos would’ve just been a better 852. Just my take on events.

not a bad speaker the es11

i owned a set for years...always had cone flap though...