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Upgrade from 30yr old Epos ES14s

Pine Marten

Pine Marten

pfm Member
Any suggestions for possible speakers to upgrade from my early incarnation ES14s? I'd like to audition possible alternatives, just to satisfy my curiosity, as I'm sure things have moved on since the ES14 was conceived. Sources are 50-50 LP-CD, LP12, Mose psu, SoleVII subchassis/armboard, Ittok, Denon DL110 and Cambridge CXC, Beresford Caiman SEG. Amplification is Naim 32.5, 72 boards, carefully modified along Acoustica lines, Hi Cap, new Kendeils and super Teddyregs, monoblock 110s, new Kendeils and Acoustica mods. Room is a far from regular rectangle approx 4mX3mX2.3m, with small galley kitchen 2mX1.5m off to the left, small curtained window approx 1.5m sq to right, and a semi open staicase to rear, its a block triangular wall I guess! Walls are 3 feet thick stone and rubble infill, floor is concrete. Room is carpetted and has a soft squishy cloth sofa. The speakers have only one place to go, cables, NAC A5 run in the wall, and that is either side of a fireplace recess in the wall, 1.7m apart, also quite close to the wall, but bass boom or excess isnt a problem, surprizingly! I think the monoblocks are rather good at keeping a good hold on them! This wasnt always the case with lesser amps. listening position is approx 1.8m back. Music taste is wide ranging, ballad type rock, Elbow, Travis, Costello, Nutini, Smiths, some prog, early Genesis, Floyd and the like, classical, gaelic genre folk, everything really! I am very happy with the overall presentation and performance of the system, but feel at times there are shortcomings. The speakers are the only thing I've had for so long! I would prefer small floorstanders, max height 75 ish cm. I have Neat Acoustics Iota Alpha and SX2's in mind, also Spendor A2's and Tannoy Reference XT6's. Budget is £1500 +/-. I live pretty much equidistant from Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield, so finding a dealer shouldnt be a problem. Any other speakers I should consider? I havnt heard any yet, years since I stepped into a dealer, well left the employ of one actually, but thats another story. I have another plan if I find the ES14s still suit me better than a set of new clothes, along the lines of Qudos and Minicap boards for the 110's and a cartridge change, the Denon is a few years old now. Thanks in advance!
 
You're suggesting moving from standmounters to floorstanders, and I presume you have the ES14s on stands? If so, may I recommend you listen to some more recent standmounters too. I'd particularly recommend the Russell K Red 50s, at around a grand, or the Red100s at a bit less than two grand. The Red 100s would be my preference, but their looks are a bit marmite - proportions a bit like a Linn Sara, but a bit smaller.

The Russell K floorstanders are also excellent, the Red 120s would be right, size wise, but a fair way above your budget. At that price, it might be worth checking out something by Scansonic. The AudioWorks in Cheadle, South Manchester, does both Russell K and Scansonic (they're my local dealer) as well as Rega, who also do some decent, small floorstanders.
 
I used ES14's for many, many years and really struggled to find something that was better in every respect. In the end I found what I wanted in Yamaha NS-1000Ms. They fit all your criteria except they aren't all that small - they aren't huge, but they are significantly bigger than ES14s. I use a similar-ish system to yours - I live in Sheffield S11 if you fancy a listen to mine.
 
IMHO floorstanders just don't have the same coherency, lack of box colouration and timing as standmounts. It would be a real minefield switching, especially due to the initial impressiveness that 'bass weight' can impart - in the mids though it isn't the same, standmounts rule here.
 
Give Russell K Red 100s or 120s a try. I have a pair running of 100s running off of Exposure 18 monos. I like them.

"I keep coming back to a famous name in audio’s past with the Red 100, and I can’t quite work out why. That loudspeaker is the Epos ES14, and it is still considered in many quarters as the acme of loudspeaker design. The audio world is littered with people who for some reason sold their ES14s and almost immediately bitterly regretted the decision. While the original Epos designer Robin Marshall and Russell Kauffman are old friends, I think the reasons for the connection run deeper. It’s the bass. The ES14 had the simplest crossover possible, and the bass driver was run straight from the power amplifier. The Red 100 has just one component in the signal chain between amp and driver, and coupled with the lack of internal damping, it makes the Russell K loudspeaker as unconstrained as its spiritual forefather." - Alan Sircom

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/russell-k-red-100/?page=2
 
Oh, sorry, somehow missed the bit about wanting floorsranders - the Yamaha's aren't floor standees. I did try some ATC scm40's but for £1500 you would have to buy second hand and if you want to play loudly you really need a bit more wattage in your amps.
 
Keep the ES14s but fit a better pair of capacitors on the tweeters and get Qudos and MinCap6 boards for your mono 110s. You could also consider Avondale 821 boards for the preamp.

P.S. You could get a further improvement by fitting A TPR4 module to the HiCap.
 
Reference 3a Veena. Custom built direct coupled mid bass and single cap to tweeter. Very much a modern es14 in a floorstanding package. Should be 1200-1500 second hand.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far. Some makes there I've never heard (of). The ES14's had clarity caps fitted to replace the tired originals last year, and the drive units were re sealed with pro grade automotive body mastic at the same time. I will consider stand mount speakers, to me mid range performance is vital, not over bothered about oodles of bass, it's a small room after all, and an intimate detailed portrayal is more my thing. I still intend to audition some new speakers, as I said, curiosity! But I'm minded to work on the amps some more, Qudos.... minicap6.....821 boards for the 32.5....
 
I loved my original ES14's, kept them for nearly 20 years, but moved on to Shahinian Obelisk's. Now using NVA Cubes.
 
The 821 boards aren't personally my thing (of course you may find differently) but otherwise I would heartily endorse what misterc6 suggests in post #7 :).
 
as your listening area is quite small and given your liking for the EPOS sound and naim amps, whould it worth trying ES11s? smaller footprint, bit tighter in the bass and more integrated sound overall, but still with that wonderful midrange. You could sell the ES14s for more than the price of a really nice pair of ES11s.
 
oh, and ES11s image better than ES14s, which might be important if the speakers are 1.7m apart and you're sat 1.8m away.
 
I went from ES11s (which are now in the Office) to Elan 30 Floorstanders.

Much more Bass obviously and a much more refined tweeter. Overall sound is smoother, much deeper, more detailed, but more laid back also. The slight drawback being the new speakers don't sound as "exciting" as the old ones. But Jazz or Dub makes much more sense now as deep bass lines are present and easy to follow. And it's still tight & snappy, no bass-boom at all! What I like most is whatever you throw at these speakers, they play it equally well. No matter what genre or recording quality, it's always fun. I have come to the conclusion that is most important for me regarding speakers.

The Elans are 94dB efficient, so whatever drove your ES14 will drive them with ease.
Worth a try if you ask me!
 
ES14s are great speakers. I'd consider trying them with a NAP250 before making any decisions about replacing them. Big upgrade for me when I had mine.

Rich
 
Difficult times ahead! I moved from ES14 and it took several goes before I found the sound that I wanted. Check out Dynaudio. They scratched my itch, but be warned that matching the performance of the ES14 is not going to come cheap.
 
what ever you do dont get rid of the Epos, so you can at leasure compare them with your new toys. It is easy to get too used to hifi gear and that is all it is.
 
Agree with this and they are cheap enough to keep as spares if you have the space.

My ES14's sound absolutely amazing with my hybrid NAP250 & I've owned SBL's, Obelisks, Neat Petite's and Dynaudio's.
 
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