flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
As you may or may not be aware I recently visited YNWOANs house for a good old listening/eating/drinking/chatting session, a right good night it was too!
You may also be aware that I have (had) Linn Saras. I bought these from DV. They are mint and I have enjoyed these speakers ever since they became part of my system some 3 years ago (ish).
Many people have heard my system and the vast majority think it sounds great; however most of them struggle with the Saras! I have always thought them pretty much 100% spot on for me and my listening taste, Prog Rock.
My visit to Marks house and the listening sessions made me re-evaluate my thinking, here are the sequence of events that led to the Saras being replaced by EPOS ES14s.
At Marks house we listened to some familiar records, Pink Floyd and Dead can Dance. I find Marks system one of the few that I have heard that actually betters mine substantially. I am not dick waving here, I like what my system does and it plays to the strengths that I want. So it should, I have built it up over years to sound good to me. I want power, detail and fun. The Saras delivered these in spades, with knobs on!
Marks system did these things but in a less coloured way. I mistook this for lack of the things I require. However we played around with PSUs for Marks phono stage and I found myself drawn into Marks way of thinking about what makes a system great. Basically Mark wants it all!!!!!!
Then we went to the pub.
Upon our return the Belgium beer (La Choufe) was opened and we settled down to listening session #2. At this point I had a revelation. Playing ‘Oman’ from Towards the Within by Dead can Dance I ‘got’ Marks system/viewpoint. In this VERY complex track there are lots of different percussive elements, one of them is the maracas. They start almost at the beginning of the track at double the beat. As things get busy, and they really do, you can hear the maracas perfectly all the time. Now this doesn’t sound that special but I ask you, on your system can you hear quiet sounds all the way through a track as it gets louder? Normally they disappear or at best become audible but indistinct. Not on Marks system. You can pick ANY part of a track and follow it easily. This ability to produce macro and micro dynamics faithfully is akin to what the Radikal did for my LP12.
Soundstage was also massive compared to my system. The live recording of Oman actually had the information contained in it to give you an idea of the size of the venue, Marks system reproduced that.
We listened until about 2:00am at which point we went downstairs to drink and chat some more. I told Mark about my ‘revelation’. I declared my system 60% as good as Marks.
The next morning before/during and after a wonderful breakfast cooked by my host Mark, I used his new ‘netbook’ pc to eBay for some ES14s, I wanted some. There were none with the ‘phase plug’ drivers available. However, salvation was at hand. Mark had bought a pair of walnut ES14s for the drivers as one of his drivers had developed a small fault. I asked if I could borrow the ES14s to try in my house just to get a feel for their compatibility with my room/HiFi. Mark very kindly agreed to lend them to me.
I arrived home and got the speakers past the boss without arousing suspicion, result. I then gave them a good looking over. The cabinets are as ‘mint’ as something that is 15 years old can be. The drivers also looked in stunning condition. I was starting to get very excited because were I to like what they did in my system I had the exact pair I would want. I connected them up and placed them on my Sara stands.
There was a problem. Mark knew that one of the drivers had a slight fault but that’s not what I found. The right hand speaker ‘cracked’ at medium+ volumes, a big fault.
I persevered at low volumes.
Immediately I heard detail and soundstage I had not heard before. Never before had I been able to talk about the front to back depth of a record, now it was there in spades. Stereo width and precision was hugely improved. The overall sound was like listening with a cloth over your speakers (Saras) and then lifting the cloth away (ES14s). Every part of the sound was improved. I needed to hear these things loud…. The search for some ES14s started.
I rather, very, cheekily told Mark I wanted his ES14s. OK he said as long I as I get some black ones with my drivers in them. I searched pfm and found a pair with stands for £200. A deal was struck and I was getting really, really excited. I arranged to pick them up but at the last minute I could not get down to London, bugger. However the seller agreed to take out the drivers and send them to me. In the mean time I sourced a second set of ‘near mint; ES14s. Actually I had just bought the first pair when a PM appeared in my inbox offering me a pair of ES14s in black with stands. I agreed to buy them.
At 3 o’clock today our courier arrived and as well as picking up our consignment he dropped of my drivers……drove home and fitted a MINT ES14 bass/mid to replace the ‘cracking’ one. I listened.
I listened LOUD. I am awestruck.
The ES14s do so much more than the Saras I am struggling to know where to start. So in no particular order and without reference to a particular track; this is what I found.
The soundstage on the ES14s exists, on the Saras it’s only hinted at. I had some fun for ten minutes pointing at, with my eyes closed, instruments in the extremes of the stereo mix. I found myself pointing outside of the space between the speakers.
I heard a front to back depth that gave an impression of the room the instruments had been recorded in. I know this can be false in the recording but the ES14s were reproducing the fake accurately.
Midrange was truly inspired. It is ruthless in its accuracy. Poor recordings sound poor, its 100% transparent. This means that tiny, tiny inflections in vocals are reproduced even when the vocalist is singing loud. This see through nature and that total lack of colouration means you hear music as it is on the record. It’s not an easy trick and I now realise that not many speakers (if any) actually have this 100% like the ES14s.
Bass is supposed to be the one ‘weak’ area of the ES14s. I used them about 1’ from the rear wall, toed in, with bungs in place. Bass is not an issue. It’s fast tight, extended and in time with the rest of the music. Bungs out, it plods.
So you may gather that I am like them, I do. There are lost of reasons that they sound good but consider this as just one of them. When I took the old driver out I noticed that the basket is cast for EPOS with Made in England on it. This is not an off the shelf driver. The tweeter and bass/mid integrate perfectly. The bass/mid connects directly to the amp; it’s to all intents and purpose active. The tweeter just has one capacitor inline to protect it from low frequencies. I suspect that the cap works below the natural roll of the tweeter and therefore the two drive units integrate without any kind of crossover. That is a neat engineering trick.
I also think that my NAIM/LP12 system is the perfect match for them as Robin Marshall voiced the EPOSES14s using a NAP250. I now believe my system 80% as good as Marks!
EPOS ES14, A true giant in the hi-fi world.
This was not so much of a review as an insight into my recent hi-fi revelation.
You may also be aware that I have (had) Linn Saras. I bought these from DV. They are mint and I have enjoyed these speakers ever since they became part of my system some 3 years ago (ish).
Many people have heard my system and the vast majority think it sounds great; however most of them struggle with the Saras! I have always thought them pretty much 100% spot on for me and my listening taste, Prog Rock.
My visit to Marks house and the listening sessions made me re-evaluate my thinking, here are the sequence of events that led to the Saras being replaced by EPOS ES14s.
At Marks house we listened to some familiar records, Pink Floyd and Dead can Dance. I find Marks system one of the few that I have heard that actually betters mine substantially. I am not dick waving here, I like what my system does and it plays to the strengths that I want. So it should, I have built it up over years to sound good to me. I want power, detail and fun. The Saras delivered these in spades, with knobs on!
Marks system did these things but in a less coloured way. I mistook this for lack of the things I require. However we played around with PSUs for Marks phono stage and I found myself drawn into Marks way of thinking about what makes a system great. Basically Mark wants it all!!!!!!
Then we went to the pub.
Upon our return the Belgium beer (La Choufe) was opened and we settled down to listening session #2. At this point I had a revelation. Playing ‘Oman’ from Towards the Within by Dead can Dance I ‘got’ Marks system/viewpoint. In this VERY complex track there are lots of different percussive elements, one of them is the maracas. They start almost at the beginning of the track at double the beat. As things get busy, and they really do, you can hear the maracas perfectly all the time. Now this doesn’t sound that special but I ask you, on your system can you hear quiet sounds all the way through a track as it gets louder? Normally they disappear or at best become audible but indistinct. Not on Marks system. You can pick ANY part of a track and follow it easily. This ability to produce macro and micro dynamics faithfully is akin to what the Radikal did for my LP12.
Soundstage was also massive compared to my system. The live recording of Oman actually had the information contained in it to give you an idea of the size of the venue, Marks system reproduced that.
We listened until about 2:00am at which point we went downstairs to drink and chat some more. I told Mark about my ‘revelation’. I declared my system 60% as good as Marks.
The next morning before/during and after a wonderful breakfast cooked by my host Mark, I used his new ‘netbook’ pc to eBay for some ES14s, I wanted some. There were none with the ‘phase plug’ drivers available. However, salvation was at hand. Mark had bought a pair of walnut ES14s for the drivers as one of his drivers had developed a small fault. I asked if I could borrow the ES14s to try in my house just to get a feel for their compatibility with my room/HiFi. Mark very kindly agreed to lend them to me.
I arrived home and got the speakers past the boss without arousing suspicion, result. I then gave them a good looking over. The cabinets are as ‘mint’ as something that is 15 years old can be. The drivers also looked in stunning condition. I was starting to get very excited because were I to like what they did in my system I had the exact pair I would want. I connected them up and placed them on my Sara stands.
There was a problem. Mark knew that one of the drivers had a slight fault but that’s not what I found. The right hand speaker ‘cracked’ at medium+ volumes, a big fault.
I persevered at low volumes.
Immediately I heard detail and soundstage I had not heard before. Never before had I been able to talk about the front to back depth of a record, now it was there in spades. Stereo width and precision was hugely improved. The overall sound was like listening with a cloth over your speakers (Saras) and then lifting the cloth away (ES14s). Every part of the sound was improved. I needed to hear these things loud…. The search for some ES14s started.
I rather, very, cheekily told Mark I wanted his ES14s. OK he said as long I as I get some black ones with my drivers in them. I searched pfm and found a pair with stands for £200. A deal was struck and I was getting really, really excited. I arranged to pick them up but at the last minute I could not get down to London, bugger. However the seller agreed to take out the drivers and send them to me. In the mean time I sourced a second set of ‘near mint; ES14s. Actually I had just bought the first pair when a PM appeared in my inbox offering me a pair of ES14s in black with stands. I agreed to buy them.
At 3 o’clock today our courier arrived and as well as picking up our consignment he dropped of my drivers……drove home and fitted a MINT ES14 bass/mid to replace the ‘cracking’ one. I listened.
I listened LOUD. I am awestruck.
The ES14s do so much more than the Saras I am struggling to know where to start. So in no particular order and without reference to a particular track; this is what I found.
The soundstage on the ES14s exists, on the Saras it’s only hinted at. I had some fun for ten minutes pointing at, with my eyes closed, instruments in the extremes of the stereo mix. I found myself pointing outside of the space between the speakers.
I heard a front to back depth that gave an impression of the room the instruments had been recorded in. I know this can be false in the recording but the ES14s were reproducing the fake accurately.
Midrange was truly inspired. It is ruthless in its accuracy. Poor recordings sound poor, its 100% transparent. This means that tiny, tiny inflections in vocals are reproduced even when the vocalist is singing loud. This see through nature and that total lack of colouration means you hear music as it is on the record. It’s not an easy trick and I now realise that not many speakers (if any) actually have this 100% like the ES14s.
Bass is supposed to be the one ‘weak’ area of the ES14s. I used them about 1’ from the rear wall, toed in, with bungs in place. Bass is not an issue. It’s fast tight, extended and in time with the rest of the music. Bungs out, it plods.
So you may gather that I am like them, I do. There are lost of reasons that they sound good but consider this as just one of them. When I took the old driver out I noticed that the basket is cast for EPOS with Made in England on it. This is not an off the shelf driver. The tweeter and bass/mid integrate perfectly. The bass/mid connects directly to the amp; it’s to all intents and purpose active. The tweeter just has one capacitor inline to protect it from low frequencies. I suspect that the cap works below the natural roll of the tweeter and therefore the two drive units integrate without any kind of crossover. That is a neat engineering trick.
I also think that my NAIM/LP12 system is the perfect match for them as Robin Marshall voiced the EPOSES14s using a NAP250. I now believe my system 80% as good as Marks!
EPOS ES14, A true giant in the hi-fi world.
This was not so much of a review as an insight into my recent hi-fi revelation.
