Epos Epic 5 Floor standing speakers

If you have been a hifi enthusiast for years that are satisfactory to remember the first loudspeakers presented by Epos Acoustics in the early 1980s you will concur the decorative design of the 'budget' floorstander is reminiscent of the marque that is original.

The enclosure of the Epic 5 is formed of 18mm MDF with flat and perpendicular internal bracing, wrapped in a selection of cherry vinyl veneer or black ash. Incredibly keenly-priced I still needed to assess the firm's booklet to affirm that it was in fact vinyl used on those cupboards and not actual wood, although it may be. As with the smaller bookshelf versions in the Epic variety of Epos, the 5 uses drivers the firm developed lately. The two 179mm bass/mid drivers, which operate in parallel, use a polypropylene cone -shaped dust cover, the crossover rolling the lower of both motorists off lightly above a couple hundred Hertz. Both woofers are loaded the big diameter interface that vents in the back of the enclosure, at LF.

You can not see any fasteners for a loudspeaker grille or the drivers because you are not really looking at the Epic 5's baffle - but instead a grille-fabric-less' cover' that Epos calls its' audiophile'! Supplied with each loudspeaker is an alternate front grille that has a cloth covering to shelter the motorists.

Outwardly the 20kg Epic 5 seems to be quite plenty of speaker for the cash... and it seemed like it also. Hitting well above its weight the Epos seemed tasteful and smooth, belying its moderate cost in this group.

As our Lab Report shows, the Epos does not provide thunderous bass output signal - more atmosphere transferred and sounded a little open mouthed also - but it delivered filling bass in-room that was restricted, tight and expressive. Thus, while the high resolution record of Tchaikovsky's 'Copak' was dynamic and daring, with remarkable scale, fine treble aspect was instead hidden. It seemed remarkable given its low cost.