The Epos FAQ list

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Main
Products
- Mi Series
- Mi Overview
- Standmount Speakers
- ELS3
- M5i
- M12i
- Floorstanding Speakers
- ELS303
- M16i
- M22i
- Centre Speakers
- ELS3C
- M8i
- Active Subwoofers
- ELS SUB
- M SUB
- Other Products
  - M Series
  - M12
  - M15
  - M12.2
  - M5
  - M15.2
  - M16
  - M22
  - M8
  - Speaker Stands
  - ST12
  - ST21
  - ST35
  - ES Series
  - ES11
  - ES12
  - ES14
  - ES15
  - ES25
  - ES30
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The FAQs

Mi Series

What about supports for the new Mi speakers?

The two floorstanding models, the M16i and M22i, have new styled plinths which are supplied fitted to the cabinets. They can be easily removed if desired. Epos continues to supply the ST21 and ST35 column stands, however the ST12 frame stand was discontinued due to the change in measurement of the M12i.

Mi Series

Are the Mi speakers the same size as their predecessors?

The M5i, M8i and M16i are the same physical size, however both the M12i and M22i are slightly narrower.

Mi Series

Do the new Mi speakers being released in 2008 use the same drive units as the previous M series?

In essence they are the same, although they are being manufactured in a new factory. All tooling is new, however the object has been to produce drivers which would not show any dramatic differences.

ELS SUB

Does the ELS SUB need time to run in?

Yes, like most speakers, it can benefit from a few hours of use. You need not worry about this, as it is a natural phenomenon and will perhaps require a slight readjustment of the controls after a day or two of use.

ELS SUB

Can I play the ELS SUB with its grille removed?

Yes, there is no reason why this should cause a problem. It may even sound better, although it doubtful if it will look any better. Be aware that the cone behind the grille cloth is made of coated paper and is delicate. Be sure not to puncture it or damage the cone or its rubber surround in any way. Beware, children and pets are particularly skilful at this activity. Once the cone or rubber surround is punctured, the speaker will not perform correctly again and will need to be replaced.

ELS SUB

Why are the ELS SUB's feet spiked?

The energy that is generated inside the cabinet of the subwoofer has to be dissipated somewhere. If not, it will cause colouration to the sound it produces. The best way to do this is to mechanically decouple the energy into the floor by way of the four spiked feet provided. If your floor is precious and you would prefer not to mark it or make holes in the flooring, please use the solid washers also provided, placing the spike into the small indentation to prevent it from sliding away and falling off the washer. The spiked feet are custom made for Epos speakers and are an unusual pitch 8mm thread. Do not try to use other makes of spike as you will cross the thread and may not be able to remove them easily with damaging the cabinet insert. Together with the spike, there is a locking not. This should be tightened up against the cabinet to stop the spike from twisting, once the level has been adjusted of each spike to stop it from rocking or wobbling.

ELS SUB

How do I connect the ELS SUB or M SUB to a dedicated 5.1/7.1 system?

Drive the ELS Sub from the Subwoofer output of your 5.1 receiver, using both left and right channels. To achieve the best results, use the low level inputs and use a good quality stereo interconnect for the job.

ELS SUB

How do I connect the ELS SUB or M SUB to a dedicated 2-channel system?

The ELS Sub is a mono speaker, so the best way to place it in a 2 channel (stereo) system is to feed a left and right signal to the low level RCA sockets from the pre-amp output of your integrated or pre-amplifier. The input is electrically buffered and therefore should not load or interfere with the normal working of your amplifier. The ELS Sub�s circuitry joins the left and right signals together in such a way as not to 'mono' the feed from your 2 channel amplifier. If your amplifier doesn't have a pre-amplifier output, it is possible to drive the ELS Sub with a high level signal. This should be the same signal you would normally use to drive the left and right speakers. In other words, either extend your speaker cables to include the subwoofer, or drive it from a separate pair of left and right cables so that it can be independently switched on or off, if your amp has such a facility.

ELS SUB

What is the best position for my subwoofer?

Too often subwoofers are placed in unsuitable locations, which compromise the overall performance. A neat trick when setting up is to put the subwoofer close to the desired listening position and move around the room while it�s playing, listening to the low frequency sound. When a suitable place is found, move the subwoofer to where the best sound was heard by the listener. The subwoofer will then sound right from the desired listening position.

It is possible to reinforce the low frequency output of a subwoofer by placing it close to a wall, or in the case of a corner, two walls. Each wall provides a 'boundary' that will increase the sound pressure level by a significant amount. This may not always be desirable, so experimentation is required to produce the desired effect.

ELS SUB

How can I Match the ELS SUB to my other speakers?

It is important when using a subwoofer with satellite loudspeakers that the outputs do not cancel at low frequencies. Many subwoofers only provide a simple in or out of phase switch to achieve this. The ELS sub has a continuously variable phase control to get the best response, no matter where the subwoofer and satellites are. Once correctly set it can be forgotten. This provides correct phase integration with your other speakers and varies from brand to brand and speaker to speaker.

Two other adjustment controls are provided to alter the range of frequencies where the subwoofer works. One control is to extend or limit the high frequency end of its range, to match different size front channel or 2 channel speakers. The other control is to extend or limit the low frequency end of the speakers range. One control allows an optimum setting depending on whether maximum bass extension is wanted, for instance with music, or movies.

Judge for yourself how loud the speaker should play. The effect is designed to be useful and not obvious or intrusive. If you feel it is tiring to listen to, you may well have the level too high or the other settings in the wrong position.

ELS SUB

Why is the ELS SUB so heavy?

To prevent unwanted noises from being generated by the cabinet, Epos has designed the ELS Sub to have 25mm (1") thick MDF walls, which are covered in a PVC vinyl laminate. Inside the enclosure, there is a significant amount of bracing which acts to strengthen the cabinet and prevent it from flexing under extreme pressure, caused by the low frequencies it produces. In addition, the ELS Sub is unusual, at its price range, for having a separate, sealed, cavity for the amplifier and filter circuit to live. This reduces the physical stress on the amplifier which improves the isolation from low frequency air pressure interfering with the circuitry and causing what is called microphony. In addition, it helps to avoid rattles and buzzes coming from the amplifier components.

Epos

How do Epos speakers play such deep tuneful bass?

This is where the active equalisation plays its part. The active low frequency equaliser circuit has been designed using a "pole cancelling" technique. This mathematically produces exactly the desired extended low frequency cut-off and damping. This can be achieved with almost no limit to the driver and box combination, or the extension required.

The circuit to achieve this is elegant as it needs only one amplification stage.

ELS SUB

What is so special about the ELS SUB?

The aim of an active subwoofer is to move air. However, it's not just a case of putting any old drive unit in a box and equalising it with an active crossover. The 10 inch (30cm) driver in the ELS sub has high power handling and linearity and the resonance in the box has been carefully designed to fall, statistically, exactly where the most power in the audio program material is likely to occur, which is typically 50 to 60Hz. The high impedance of the driver at the system's resonance significantly reduces the load on the amplifier by reducing the current drawn and the heat produced. This improves the linearity and means it will play louder too.

Only a modest internal heatsink is needed, because the amplifier used in the ELS sub is a 90 percent efficiency 'class D' design, capable of 300 Watts continuous and 500 Watts maximum power output.

ELS SUB

Why is the ELS SUB a sealed box (infinite baffle) design?

Use of a port has limitations,

1) The timing and damping of a ported design is poorer than a correctly designed active speaker system inside a sealed enclosure.

2) It is more difficult to equalise ported designs.

3) Ported designs will not practically allow low frequencies to be extended below the natural frequency cut-off determined by the port.

4) Ports can cause air turbulence at high levels, producing unwanted noise or 'chuffing'.

ELS SUB

Why do some subwoofers have ports in them?

Porting a loudspeaker improves the bass extension and the power handling around the port tuning frequency.

ELS SUB

Why has Epos Acoustics chosen an active design for their subwoofer?

Passive subwoofers are restricted by the laws of physics. To get deep bass, the speaker is either very large or very insensitive. Using active allows us to get around most of the problems by using frequency equalisation in the amplifier.

ES15 M15 M15.2

With regard to mass loading, does Epos Acoustics recommend Sand / Lead Shot or something different as fill in the ES15, M15 and the M15.2. How much would be necessary?

The M15 and M15.2 were designed with a lower cavity that could be filled with a heavy inert material to improve stability and damping. It was initially intended to use sand, filling it with the speaker face down then firmly replacing the bung. Adding additional mass would be useful but a complete fill with lead shot would be too heavy, not to mention expensive and poisonous. There would be no harm in the addition of a little lead shot with the sand although it will separate out with time. A word of warning - do not mistake the port for the sand filler hole. There is a bung in the lower hole where the sand goes. This may sound obvious but one system was returned with sand in the works! On no occasion should any attempt be made to ship the speakers filled, as the packaging was not designed to take the additional load and could invalidate the warranty.

Epos

Is it true that Epos loudspeakers are made outside the UK?

Early Epos models used cabinets manufactured in Italy and Denmark. At the time of purchasing the company Michael Creek determined that through the new company, Epos Limited, he would continue to source components from whichever manufacturer offered the expected high quality at the correct price.

The speakers are however 100% designed in the U.K. In addition to the cabinet design, all individual components are designed here in the U.K., the drawings are produced here and then the information is relayed to a specialist company in China. All tooling is owned by Epos Limited. The products are built strictly to our specification under license. Samples are fully measured, tested and approved by the engineering design team here in the U.K. before they go into production. Michael Creek and/or one of his U.K. speaker engineers, personally visits the manufacturing factory several times each year to ensure that the high standard of build quality is maintained. The loudspeakers therefore remain distinctly a "British Product".

ES Series

The Epos ES series were legendary, what changed in the original M series models?

It was obvious from the start that there were areas that needed to be addressed urgently. Specifically these were the introduction of the long awaited grills and the use of more user-friendly connectors. But they were not the only changes - the M12 changes when compared to the ES11 were significant.
25mm MDF cabinet
Wooden rear panel
Bi-wireable terminal posts with links
Fully shielded magnets
Injection moulded woofer cone
New suspension
Unique EPOS tweeter design
Proprietary DNM internal wiring

Epos

Michael Creek purchased Epos Acoustics in 1999. What is his view for the future of Epos?

Epos Limited is continuing the tradition of making outstanding Epos loudspeakers. At the time Mike Creek purchased the company, many of the existing Epos loudspeaker models were several years old and plans were already underway for replacements. Creek, through Epos Limited, has continued this development work in creating the next generation of Epos loudspeakers. The company still utilises the services of the one of the design engineers from the original Epos team.

News

Good Buys

Recent shows and promotions has meant that Epos has a few products not able to be sold 'as new'. These are now listed on the online shop and represent good value for those wishing to obtain an Epos bargain! ...