Episode Speakers...any thoughts? - Page 2

I agree, the included wall mounts are not that great (at least they come with some though.) I recommend the OmniMount 5.0 and 10.0. Once you get everything dialed, you will be impressed!

I'm intrigued by what I heard today, Episode ES-700 Monitor. Smooth, not brite. The pair I heard had an issue unfortunately. One speaker had a vibration which sounded like the front metal baffle was vibrating at a certain frequency.

I was only able to listen to a couple of songs but was impressed enough to consider purchasing them. The vibration did give me cause to research this brand before making a decision.

What I have been unable to research is MSRP on this speaker. I was given a price by the dealer but it sounded like I was being sized up on what I was willing to spend. I understand that the price point in which the audio community will spend may not be firm if this is a new line; but, I do want to know what the MSRP is from the manufacturer or I will not buy. If I'm paying MSRP that's fine. Enough said.

Is there an MSRP on the ES 700 Monitor and Tower that can be shared? I will take a private pm to avoid price discussion. If none is given then my search will continue. My next pick leads me to Dali, PSB, etc....

ES-700 Monitor is $300
ES-700 Tower is $750

Thank you. The price quoted me was no where near this price for the monitors. At this price they are a very good deal and tremendous bang for the buck. I had a feeling I was being sized up.

Just went to your web site, wish you were in MD. Were losing all our brick and mortar stores here. The hi-end is now Magnolia in BestBuy.

Just to clarify, those are priced as each.

Thank you very much for clarifing this, I did assume that the price was $300 for the pair and thought that was way low for what I saw in build quality.

$600 a pair looks like a valid price point and is close to what they were offered at to me. I was not turned off by the price quoted but was taken back when I thought they were $300 a pair. I came close to placing an order on the spot but wanted to know more about what I was buying.

I was not overly impressed with the top end on this speaker. My impression was they were thin. Cymbals were distant, clouded. This and the cabinent vibration made me pause to get more info. Hope some other users could post their observations.

Again, I only listened to 5 songs on them. I also own only full range speakers and I'm looking for bookshelfs for my TV. Everything I listen to I compare with what I like. Hard to compromise.

I've been bringing in some Episode speakers a few at a time, leery that they wouldn't stand up, after selling a lot of brands like Revel, PSB, NHT. I haven't heard the whole line yet and haven't really bench marked them yet, but the 500s are damned good speakers that are at the very least a great deal and with great cosmetics and nice compact size. Bass is very good for a ported speaker and plenty deep considering the size. Sound is smooth, no obvious rough spots or peaks, a little on the warm side, which is perfect since most of my jobs involve bright, hard rooms. But VERY detailed in the vocal range, slightly at the expense of the upper mids, and could hear lyrics clearly that I hadn't picked up before. If they were $800/pr, I'd think they were reasonably competent, but at the price, they're excellent and easily some of the best I've heard at that price and remind me of the NHT Absolute Zeros.

If indeed there is a problem with one of the speakers at your local dealer, they should get that taken care of immediately. Especially if they're representing the line and considering the speakers have a lifetime warranty.

Also, keep in mind that any speakers performance can be greatly affected by the room and setup, placement, toe, etc.

I've found that most "vibrations" come from a binding post that is loose or a woofer cable that has gotten lodged behind the cone and slaps on it when it moves.

Also, bigger is not always better in a speaker. Most of the best bookshelf speakers in any line are *not* the ones with a bit 6 or 7" mid/bass driver. They compromise upper midrange to get more bass and SPL. I really like the 300, though it is slightly more rolled off up top compared to what I generally go for, but with my acoustics, that's a good thing - it works perfectly with my room. YMMV.

NHT and PSBs do cymbals very well and are slightly brighter, but usually not too bright, up top.

We have just started using Episode speakers for a few months now. Our clients have really liked them, nothing but great comments so far. They sound better than most other similar priced speakers out there. Since Episode is not really known to our clients, they have asked for comparing tests between Episodes and other brands in the same price range. Every time we were amazed of how well the Episodes performed against them.

We are looking forward in trying the 700-LCR when they come out!

Nicholas Nelson

Anyone using the 700 or 900 series LCR's?

Dropzone7, you must be confused... this isn't the sandwich making thread.

Huh?

I have been an installer using Episode speakers for a couple of years now and from the first installation I have been in love with all their speakers.

Recently I have acquired a couple of the ES-700 towers for demoing. When I first got them I used my old Denon AVR and thought they sounded pretty good, and the build quality on these speakers (btw) is phenomenal!

Sound wise, at first I was impressed, but not blown away. The dome tweeters they use sound good, but I personally like the sound of horn or ribbon tweeters. The NCS (natural cell structure) drivers sound very smooth and natural.

Also these speakers are a bit directional. I have read what others have said about these speakers, and I agree, that you will probably want to make sure these are spread pretty wide and are towed in a tad.

Recently I replaced my receiver (which could only do component switching) to a new receiver that could do HDMI switching. So I got an Onkyo TX-SR608. This receiver has the ability to bi-amp the front channel speakers using the zone 2 for the highs and the fronts for the lows. Finally I get to try the proper bi-amping on these speakers!

All I have to say is... wow. They are like new speakers when bi-amped. The bass that I felt was a tad lacking before is in abundance now. Seriously I don't have a sub on it right now and I don't feel the need for one. It is shocking how much bass these small towers produce!

For me these speakers have gone from decent to great with bi-amping. I would strongly suggest anyone who has these speakers, and can properly bi-amp (emphasis on properly) them, should do it.

Now that they have released the timber matched LCR's I plan on making a 5.1 using these towers.

All in all I would very highly recommend episode speakers, I have not used a single one that I was not impressed with at in it's retail price point.

I have been in the business for a long time and when I read "piano black", I was skeptical about it. I have seen some examples of this and, being a woodworker myself, know that painting the edges and joints on MDF takes additional time and effort, especially when using high-gloss finishes. However, my reaction when I unboxed the first Episode ES-700-MON-6-BLK bookshelf speaker was "No s%$t?" The finish was far better than I expected and completely flawless. I didn't open one of them to see what's inside but even if I were to use a simple crossover and cheap drivers, I couldn't build these for anywhere near this price if I paid myself $8/hr and then pay for shipping. Then, I listened to them. I have been a fan of textile dome speakers for a long time and worked for the second US Jamo dealer, so my history with their "sound" goes back a little over 30 years. These are better than my Jamo J-101 speakers, yet smaller. Better bass with a smaller woofer, better mid-range, although a two-way vs three-way and better high-end extension. At first, I thought they were a bit bright in comparison to the speakers I was using (they have Vifa textile dome tweeters) but not to an objectionable extent. I left them connected and have used them since het middle of May, with and without my subwoofer. It's easy to like these with a wide variety of music and, while a lot of small speakers just sound small, these sound very natural for human voice and only the deep bass was missing. That doesn't mean they sounded wimpy and I don't have them in a bookcase or on shelves- I use stands, about 1-1/2' from the back wall and far enough from the side walls that they don't get any help in the low end.

This is a real speaker, at a low price. If someone wants speakers that are remotely close in price, I'll offer these first. I left these for a client to audition and he wants to know the price. With the exception of his KEF 107b speakers that were in his living room, all of his other speakers are Dynaudio. The bass from these isn't quite as full as his Dyn Audience 52 (I tried them on the same stands, months ago) but they're only half the price. These will be used with a subwoofer (unless the kids are sleeping) but in their new media room, they sound great with minimal setup.

Now, if they only came in white...... No problem- I know of a painting contractor who finishes fine furniture.

Does anyone know how these speakers compare to Paradigms? I'm considering picking up the Monitor 11.v6, ADP-390s and CC-390 for a home theater setup, but these have been brought to my attention as possibly a better option......any thoughts? Thanks (newbie here).

I am also planning episode speakers for my home theater. I never heard in person though, since some members installed these want to know the quality of sound they are getting.
3 ES-700-IWLCR-5
1 ES-700-ICSURR-6 pair
Or any suggestions.

I did 7 of the ES-700-IWLCR-5 for my Theater Room (about 3 years ago now), and I have been very happy with them. Very good quality sound at both low and high volumes, and really do well especially for being in-wall.

I also got an Episode Sub (C5-SUB12), but I wasn't as impressed by it. Later we even had an issue with the Subwoofer, but the good news was that Episode immediately replaced it with their newer model since it was still under warranty.

Nothing like bringing up a 2 year old thread.