Has anyone heard th enew Epiphany's??

I listened with the Epiphany's driven by the Tenor Hybrid's at the NYC show in a too small room with inadequate current (1 15amp line) driving the system, and thought they sounded phenomenal. Enveloping is a good word to describe their signature, with excellent PRaT and immediacy. I was shocked when I learned of their retail price and consider them a great value. Of course, the Tenor and Meitner electronics were other key ingredients, but overall one of the best sounding combos I heard at the show.

I don't believe the speakers were well set up. This was confirmed by one of the Epiphany folks on the first day; apparently, they did not have complete control over the placement of the speakers, since they were sharing the cost of the room with the electronics manufacturers.

Maybe the less-than-optimal setup is the reason I came away unimpressed. The biggest problem was the soundstaging--very unstable, with a seeming gap in the middle and a tendency to collapse around one speakers if you weren't sitting in the middle seat. Tonality and dynamics seemed good but not excellent.

I am eager to hear the Epiphany speakers again under better conditions.

Yes, the speakers had been re-adjusted prior to my visit for a listen on Sunday. As with all shows, the difference between a Friday listen and Sunday can in some cases be quite dramatic. And the room, along with the single 15amp power line available, were definitely limiting factors. Still, Sunday had the Epiphany's in fine form, and I was summarily impressed as were others in the room at the time.

I posted after HE 2004 here:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ymisc&1085260344&openfrom&16&4#16

Not only was the system breaking in, the Epiphany's were moved several times as were the sub woofers.

Even more confusing, demo's were performed at length with AND without the dual drive 18 inch subwoofer. This fact went unexplained unless a listener inquired.

I was in the room at least six times, listened with and without the sub because the speakers interested me.

Albert said:
"Not only was the system breaking in, the Epiphany's were moved several times as were the sub woofers."

That kind of a circus is ridiculous. These professionals are supposed to have this stuff all worked out on set-up day. Good preparation demands all broken-in components, and the system should be SET before the public ever gets in the door. Otherwise, they're failing to satisfy their potential customers and wasting the considerable amount of money they have to shell-out to exhibit at the show.

I had the same reaction as Albert did. I wanted to "like" this speaker ....but just could not get comfortable with the sound. I was also not sure when the sub was in or out? Yes, Golden Ears....you are correct. The folks from Epiphany should have done a better job at their home work in setting up this speaker. The price is so enticing ...now they must work on the sonics.

Another room observation from another thread, (the Merlin room) a case-in-point. I don't want to "harp", but it's just so significant to my earlier point....
(I corrected your typos John ;-)

"The Epiphany room was a huge disappointment. There were 3 rows of 3 seats, and I had the center seat back row. All of the seats were full. After about 5 minutes of listening, I asked the guy behind me (an Epiphany employee) why the sound was only coming from the left hand side? He said he thought it was the recording (which made me wonder why they would select it). No one else was saying anything. After another minute or so, I couldn't stand it any more so I got up and walked over to the right channel speaker and put my ear up next to it, and it wasn't playing!! This revelation sent the room into a flurry of activity, trying to debug the problem. Later, when it was corrected, I asked if the large subwoofer was playing, and the answer was 'we think so, but its not set very loud'. OK guys. At that point I left. Presumably, they got their act together later on in the show, since I was one of the first people there on Friday morning.
Johnax (Threads | Answers)