Based on the age of the speakers, non-original drivers, l-pad, I think your best bet is to keep 'em and use them as patio or garage speakers. I doubt you could get even $150 for them as-is...
-RW- |
I hate to sound argumentative but these speakers are in excellent shape and could be easily restored to original specs. The small hole for the L-Pads could be filled and would have no effect whatsoever on the sound. Front foam grilles could be custom fabricated if so desired. I know Epicure had a pretty good following in it's day. I would certainly expect them to be worth more than $150.00. You can see pics of them here, http://www.mandobassman.com/Epicure.html |
Epicure was pretty good in it's day, which is now measured in decades.
What you can buy from PSB, Paradigm or others in the low hundreds would make a 30 year old speaker that "only needs new grills, a replacement midrange, holes filled where the L pad was etc, etc" sound dreadful.
Rather than argue with the responses here, just put them on ebay and see how great the following for something that needs a bunch of work is? |
I doubt you could even get $150 for them. Your limited to a local sale to someone who is an EPI fanatic. Drivers need to be rebuilt and the crossovers probably need work.
Here is a link to info about them: http://www.humanspeakers.com/cgi-bin/page.pl?page=e/epicure-3.0.txt |
Ok, so $47.00 to rebuild one mid plus shipping. Sound is clean so I think the crossovers are fine. Woofers and Tweeters have no issues. My main speakers are vintage Klipschorns in mint condition so I do know what quality sound is and while these do not have the live presence of the Klipshorns and not nearly as efficient they do have a very rich natural sound that you only find in high end equipment. Aside from the sound the cabinets are very nice too. I have to believe they are worth more than $150.00 to someone. If I can't sell them for considerably more than that I will certainly keep them. |
Run an ad here, on eBay or Craigslist and you will soon know their real value. That would be a lot easier than arguing about it, which in the end will not result in a real answer to your question. I always liked Epicure speakers and would be interested in knowing the final sales price. |
Mandobassman, you're using the logic of a seller, step into the shoes of a buyer and it will be much more apparent to you. |
Hi Mondo, I just typed in "Epicure 3.0 speakers for sale" into a search engine and a few adds around the internet came up. Also went to ebay and found foam surround kits for 40.00.
I think if you restored them back to stock you could ask 350.00 as a starting price and see what offers you get.
Good Luck, Tish |
Snofun3
Just because a piece of equipment is 30 years old doesn't mean it is going to be inferior to modern equipment, in fact I have found that the older stuff is often better. What you consider "a bunch of work" is not necessarily a bunch to someone else.
Truemaineiac
I am using the logic of a true audiophile that bases the value of equipment on the quality of performance rather than age, appearance, original equipment, etc... For example, Audiophiles will pay $1000.00 for a 50 year old Dynaco ST-70 tube amp simply because of the sound.
Jperry
I will let you know what the sale price is if I manage to sell them. You're right, arguing with the other responses here will not tell me what their value is. I really wasn't trying to argue, I was trying to point out the positive aspects of the speakers. I just didn't expect the attitudes to be so negative. I probably won't list them for sale here. I don't think there's enough of a market here. |
Hi Racamuti,
The foam surrounds have already been replaced. I know the front foam grilles are not available so full restoration is not possible but they function beautifully and I'm sure others would agree that the round grilles don't look bad. Thanks for your input, your suggestion sounds a lot more like I was thinking. |
Mondo, you'll get whatever someone wants to pay. I own and use EPI 100s in a bedroom system and they sound really good powered by a Sansui AU D-11. I paid $45 with original boxes. Responding like you did, sounded like everyone here was supposed to be as enamored as you and willing to make you an offer upon knowledge of their availability. A couple of responses sounded harsh but we all are allowed our opinions. I saw one Internet ad for just the empty boxes. Maybe that's how to market them, a piece at a time rather than as damaged/non stock speakers. Good luck. |
Apparently you haven;t listed to speakers in a while. SOME equipment MIGHT be comparable, but speakers - not a chance.
You try to sound like you know what you're talking about, so instead of arguing (again), out them on Craigslist, ebay or whatever, and try to convince someone to part with their money for them. |
I think Racamuti is giving you false hope. |
I think Racamuti knows what these things sound like, and that is what I'm trying to sell. I did a search like Racamuti did and found someone selling just the cabinets without drivers for $300.00. Granted that dosen't mean they sold for that but it does suggest that these speakers in fully functioning condition with cabinets in nice condition are easily worth $350.00 or more. At this point I have to say I think I picked the wrong forum for my subject and I will look elsewhere for vintage enthusiasts. Thank you all for your input both positive and negative. |
If your looking for a site loaded with vintage enthusiasts, check out www.audiokarma.org. |
I own two EPI vintage loudspeakers. What drives the value down is that you need a very specific buyer for your Epicure 3s and it's a very small pool of them. Furthermore, depending upon where you're located, since practically speaking you can't ship them, the buyer pool could be miniscule. Whoever will buy your speaker is someone who really likes vintage EPI/Epicure loudspeakers. The idea that you could get some random person to pay $300+ for a pair of 40 year old, modified loudspeaker just because they sound pretty okay is a fantasy upon your part. You need to find an EPI collector. It is possible that you could get $300 for them, but it might take you a year to do it.
Try the AudioKarma website.
Good luck and please post what happens. |
Mandobassman, I just checked ebay and there was not one single bid on EPI/Epicure speakers, used drivers or brochures. I doubt there is any following at all, except for you. Since you like the speakers so much you should have the original mids repaired professionally, restore the rest of the speaker and keep them because a market for your speakers does not exist. |
You asked a straightforward question and got a straightforward answer -- that you didn't like.
So then you want to argue about it - like that will change things. NO it won't. If you are no ale o deal with the information, only you may know why, then don't bother posting the question - plain and simple. |
I might be interested in them. What are you asking? |
Wondering if you sold the Epi speakers? |
