Outstanding midrange, sweet highs, tight bottom end. Ability to unravel the most complex of musical passages with ease.

Revealing nature requires the best electronics, cables, and stands to show it's true hidden performance. Make sure you partner with the best heavy rigid stand you can afford. Partner it with a cheap stand and you'll be sorry. No longer in production so difficult to find. I'd say $600-700 on the used market is the average now which is dirt cheap considering some people pay that much for interconnects.

This speaker offers very surprising performance given it's price. In my quest for a very good speaker to match my Naim electronics, I'm auditioned quite a few speakers both standmount and floorstanding. The ES14 is a very revealing speaker that will bring the best in your components. Fed with quality components they will shine. The sound is extremely clear, with the blackest blacks between notes, outstanding midrange, with sweet extended highs and a nice tight low end. This is surprising since I've considered bass reflex to be a little sloppy in the bottom end. No such problem here. I'm extremely content with this speaker as you'll be looking at speakers 3 times the cost to approach the level of sound offered here. Don't blame this speaker for any deficiencies in your sound. Note this speaker comes in both bi-wire and single wire versions. I feel the single wire version (original) somehow sounds better but perhaps I've just been influenced by what's been posted on newsgroups.

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Too many to list from high end ATC to Vienna Acoustics.

Holographic midrage clarity, sweet top end, and tight punchy bass. Very musical, revealing and transparent - they let you see into the music.

Build quality could be better, whilst the bass is punchy - its not deep. Very sensitive to room positioning and fussy about souce components - do not use cheap source components with these speakers or they'll sound terrible. Amplifier needs to be 50 watts minimum and of high quality.

I reviewed as many as 20 different speakers before I finally decided on the right pair for me. I narrowed down the choice to the Epos ES14's and Rogers LS7t's. What swung it for me was the incredible midband clarity of the ES14's and almost holographic soundstaging. One of my test albums was Tracy Chapman's debut album and this took on a magical quality through the ES14's projecting her powerful voice into an almost 3 dimensional soundstage. The trade off was that the Epos's didn't posess as powerful a bass as the Roger's but whilst it didn't go as deep, it was punchy and well controlled. I've used these speakers now for over 10 years and I have no intention of changing them - I'm happy with them and they give me the sound I like to listen to. Interestingly, when I was shopping for a new amplifier and was listening to demo's of various amps - I so missed my ES14's! Even though the demo amps were also Epos's - they simply wernt my ES14's! Highly recommended, with the same caveats as previous reviewers - very fussy about room position, use quality source components and a reasonably beefy and not too bright amplifier - they're not that senstive - I use a MF A100 and the warmth of this amp suits them well.

Similar Products Used:

Linn sondek/Ittok/K9 Musical Fidelity A100

Highly musical pair of speakers, fluid midrange,

Steely treble, a little conjested when played loud, fussy about positioning, finishing could be better. But then again, looking at the price...it's an incredible product.

It's strengths are clear from the first listen: excellent image focus, wide and deep soundstage. Well...I don't really need to reiterate what has already been said in the previous reviews. Actually, the speakers did not grab my attention at first. Only after a long session of listening, then I realised its REAL strength: Musicality! It's ability to let me just sit back and listen to music. That must be the biggest virtue possible for any speakers. And how much would you pay for this virtue alone? Bass is tight and substantial for a pair of speakers this size. Nothing really to shout about in this area. And I do agree that this pair of speakers do need good accompanying components to make allow them to really sing. Hallmark of a real high-end, high value product!

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B&W, Missions

Great all-round speaker, fit for very long and pleasant evenings

Not designed to deal with heavy metal

I have had many different loudspeakers, and always claimed that there is no substitute for cubic inches. In order to achieve solid bass, I have used speakers of over 100 lbs / 40 kgs, subwoofers as well as a design based on a pipe. All these solutions had one thing in common: you start "full steam ahead", and then gradually decrease the volume. So I started looking for speakers that I can bear for hours of continued listening, with a budget of US$ 1,000 a pair or less. To make things more difficult, the speakers must be able to deal with everything from Ravel to REM and from Grieg to Genesis.

After reviewing several alternatives, I came across the Epos ES14. They were demoed with expensive stuff: Audio Research valve amps and a Proceed cd-drive/dac combo. I told the sales rep that it doesn't make sense to partner US$ 1,000 worth of speakers (or less, I don't remember the price) with equipment carrying a price tag of well over US$ 10,000. He simply stated "they deserve it, so shut up and listen", and so I did. And got goose bumps from Tracey Chapman, Peter Gabriel and many others.

Choosing the right equipment isn't easy. Since I cannot afford Audio Research, Audio Note or Jadis, I've chosen a Copland CTA 401 integrated valve amp (*****). This set-up is great for many different kinds of music, with the exception of complex classical music like Wagner or Orff.

I've owned the Epos ES14 for well over five years now, and find them very pleasant to live with. If you've got the money to buy yourself Avalon or Sonus Faber (to mention two of my favorite brands), then go ahead, but if your budget isn't up to such a step, then the ES14 should be on your shortlist. That is, if you can get hold of them because the company is said to be very quiet these days after a take-over.

When hooked up to a World Audio KEL34 Integrated AMP, Rogers GB3 Bi-Wire Cable & Silver Clarity ICO this pair of speaker is an all rounder performer. A good control of bass delivery plus superb vocal ambience impresses me. Acoustic melodramic quality surpasses my expectation. Percussions, all range of guitars, bass, keyboard & piano & drums R perfectly re-produced. Clarity is beyond question. Good detials without sacrificing any bass.

The looks could be improved to match its highly rated performance. Not suitable for clasical & orchestra music lovers cause the speaker seems unable to handle too many instrument.

No qualms whatsoever to recommend to anybody who wishes to try it out for a change/upgrade.

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Dali Royal Maneut 2 & Rogers LS98

superb midrange
sweet highs (depending on electronics used)
solid imaging and soundstaging

bass (a tad slow and could sound bloated depending on electronics used)

Like the previous reviewer, I am leaning towards keeping these speakers forever...They are truly musical speakers with excellent midrange and a smooth and sweet high end. Care must be taken on the electronics with which to mate them. I must say that these Epos 14's are quite system sensitive and in order to achieve it's potential, a little mixing and matching might be necessary. They sound best with clean sounding electronics, particulary the high frequencies. They don't match well with tonally bright sounding equipment. Once you've discovered it's magic, it's hard to them up. The Kestrels sound similar to these Epos, although I didn't really care for the rather poor cratfsmanship on the Meadowlarks. I can't criticize the workmanship on these Epos' as they are constructed very well.

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Meadowlark Kestrel
Spica TC60
Thiel CS1.5

Incredibly musical speaker. Very beautiful and smooth midrange. The ES14 can be used with the highest quality components and will never disappoint. It is quite revealing, and will bring out system weaknesses and strengths. I have listened to this speaker for 10 years and will never sell my ES 14s. I will be upgrading to a full range speaker, but will keep them for a second system.

Limited low frequency. You will need electronics with dynamic but very detailed bass.

One of the best monitor style speakers made. If you want a musical speaker, buy these!

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B&W CDM1SE (not nearly as musical as the (EPOS).

Smooth and detailed mids and highs, toe-tapping musical performance, great soundstaging.

My room is small so bass response over the frequency range is spotty, but tight. I agree with the assessment that this speaker deserves a larger room...

I, too believe this to be a special speaker-- give it good electronics and it will satisfy. It has a certain naturalness in the way it portrays music that escapes most speakers. All types of music (from techno to jazz) seem to be rendered the way they were intended.

I've got my 14's hooked up to a 50wpc tube amp and can now clearly hear how important quality source components are. Recently I've been shopping around for a CD player (I presently don't own one) and because of these speakers I have come to realize that most of them screw up the sound in one way or another. The ES14's will unconditionally reveal the limitations of your sources! However, this wasn't a bad thing for me since the only source I've invested heavily into is my turntable, and it now sounds better than ever.

The Epos also throw a wide soundstage, and if the recording permits, depth too. They are sensitive to positioning and I'm still trying to find an optimum location for them. They seem to want to come farther out into the room (right now are about a foot from the back wall) and farther apart but my small room will only permit small adjustments to their present location. My listening position is too close but I can't move it any farther back. I get the feeling that low bass response and imaging would improve in a larger room. I also listen to the ES14's without the foam plugs in the bass ports because I feel they restrict dynamics too much.

Another nice thing about the ES14 is that it doesn't hit you over the head with detail. They do reproduce plenty of detail but I think (more importantly) they are more in the way of being transparent. Some speakers like the Totems "sound" more detailed than the Epos but became fatiguing-- like looking at the world through a magnifying lens. I think the Epos are nicely balanced in this respect.

The ES14's are an inefficient speaker so they probably need at least 50 watts to sound lively. My amp mates nicely with them and I don't experience any lack of power. I haven't tried these speakers with solid state but they sure like tubes. :)

So basically, like others have said in their reviews, the Epos ES14 are excellent for the price and won't embarrass themselves when you upgrade your equipment. If anything, they will embarrass your other components. I also agree with a person who said they "will cure your upgrade-itis": I think I've found my speakers. :-)

Equipment:
Sonic Frontiers SFC-1 integrated amp
Sonic Frontiers Anthem Pre 1p phono preamp
Basis 1400 turntable with Rega RB300 tonearm
Benz Micro Glider M2 cartridge
NBS Monitor 4 speaker cable
AudioQuest Forest interconnect
Nordost Eldorado
Tice Line Enhancer
NOS and new production "Teslovak" tubes

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Totem Model 1, Snell E IV, KEF Coda 7, random JBL consumer crud.

mind blowing audio quality at a budget speaker price range. truly wonderful, precise, clean, breathtaking

none at all, apart from the fact the grilles can fall off as theyre only velcro'd in place

truly one of the highest quality and listeneable speakers ever made. in terms of audio quality and listening experience, these rival ANYTHING on the market.

the low price is a joke, these are superior to some £5,000 speakers ive heard.

think of them as the speaker equivalent of a top of the range pair of SENHEISSER headphones and thats what they are.

no good for people who like buying new speakers ever so often, as theres no point after owning a pair of these.

BOTTOM LINE: unless I needed bigger speakers to fill a very large room, I wouldnt ever need to replace these.

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ive heard all the top name speakers, and cant think of any regardless of price that i would want instead. period.

Precise focus, well controlled bass, fluid treble, excellent speaker for jazz, classical and vocals!

Not so good with Dance or Rock.

Well I never thought I could get one. I dreamed about the classic Epos ES-14. Who ever thought I could get it for that low a price in mint condition? I have been reading about the history of this speaker in all HI-FI mags and not one says its below par. Its like a PORSCHE 911...you could appreciate the history behind it. A friend of mine had one since 1999 and I envied him ever since. I close my eyes and the soundstage in my system is clearly present...slightly laid back. The treble is fluid and sweet, the midrange just pure and very controlled bass. Using the foam bung included, does this. But if I want more bass...I just remove it, which is not too often. I don't agree with the others saying it lacks bass. But really one has to partner the ES14 with a good amplifier at least 50 watts RMS. This is the one I'll be listening for a very very long time. Imagine I listened again to each and every CD I owned in this SUPERB SPEAKERS. I cant wait to upgarde the other components.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer A-400X, CDP-311, Denon DP-37F Belt drive turntable, Qudos speaker cable, Van Den Hull interconnects. Mordaunt-Short Classic 20 on MS classic 20 stands.