The EPIs from the late 70's were part of the 'New England sound' style of speakers when such distinctions were relevant. EPI's founder and head designer was Winslow Burhoe, who was part of the design team at Acoustic Research. Burhoe makes a modern EPI equivalent today available from Direct Acoustics .
My first 'real' system was a pair of EPIs 100s, a Pioneer 636 receiver, and Dual 1257 turntable.
The EPIs 100 were your typical 2'X1'X1' vinyl clad, large bookshelf speakers and were comparable in price to the Boston Acoustics and Advent offerings of the time. A pair back in 1979 cost roughly $150/ pair, if you caught a sale. I remember paying about $175 for my Pioneer receiver and about the same for my Dual turntable with cartridge. So, I had the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 equation going on for what was a mid-fi system ... better than a compact, better than store brand electronics, but not in the big leagues either.
The EPIs overall sound was warm and polite. When compared with a $400 pair of speakers from Polk or Infinity today, I would think that you would find the EPIs sounding rather closed in and wooly. The midrange was spot on, treble was rolled off, and the bass sounded tuneful enough, but it did not go very low. I held on to the speakers for about 10 years before giving them away. I upgraded to KEF Q55's and never looked back.
Rich
My first 'real' system was a pair of EPIs 100s, a Pioneer 636 receiver, and Dual 1257 turntable.
The EPIs 100 were your typical 2'X1'X1' vinyl clad, large bookshelf speakers and were comparable in price to the Boston Acoustics and Advent offerings of the time. A pair back in 1979 cost roughly $150/ pair, if you caught a sale. I remember paying about $175 for my Pioneer receiver and about the same for my Dual turntable with cartridge. So, I had the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 equation going on for what was a mid-fi system ... better than a compact, better than store brand electronics, but not in the big leagues either.
The EPIs overall sound was warm and polite. When compared with a $400 pair of speakers from Polk or Infinity today, I would think that you would find the EPIs sounding rather closed in and wooly. The midrange was spot on, treble was rolled off, and the bass sounded tuneful enough, but it did not go very low. I held on to the speakers for about 10 years before giving them away. I upgraded to KEF Q55's and never looked back.
Rich