Fresh in the box! (New stuff that you bought!)

zephyr11

Active member
In ISSE, the ES14N was driven by Symphonic Line, an excellent amplifier I first learned about and heard over 20 years ago at Ongus' place. I remember Tool imported one from Germany to drive the Harbeth speakers.
i'm quite sure when i heard it was driven by the integrated moonriver (2nd day), which was quite decent, and dare i say i think my current setup sounds better than that day i heard it, possibly cos it is borderline nearfield listening in my situation.
 

zephyr11

Active member
Compare this new one with the previous MD1, what are the differences?

I suppose the mids is clearer, what about the highs?


after more than 2 weeks of 4/5 hrs of burn in daily, finally i think 开花. lol...

bass after porting is superb, the double bass now sounds solid and full, more upfront, and i can almost feel the plucking of the strings.

mids really opened up, vocals are even better, more voluminous, realistic than on the MDX, which was already very good.

highs are where i think i lost some air and sparkle, still decent but i can tell they are not as strong as the diamond tweeters.

but the mids and bass more than made up for it, to add on, decay seems slightly longer (dunno good or bad, but it's something i noticed), the overall presentation is slightly wider, more laid back, and also slightly deeper, with the speakers positioned exactly at the same spot (roughly) as the MDX.
 

tachyons

Active member
i'm quite sure when i heard it was driven by the integrated moonriver (2nd day), which was quite decent, and dare i say i think my current setup sounds better than that day i heard it, possibly cos it is borderline nearfield listening in my situation.
How would you rate Epos speakers compared to Magico, which you mentioned was one of the best you've heard? Over 20 years ago, I had a wonderful session with the old ES14 at forumer Silklee's place, driven by his Naim setup. It made me realize how slow my Dynaudio was in a side-by-side comparison. The new ES14N looks so entirely different that I can no longer relate it to the old model.
 

blue_starfish

Active member
The original Epos ES14 had synergy with Naim (chrome bumper, olive series) and Exposure (John Farlowe era) amps. I heard the ES14 driven by Naim NAP250 and the equivalent Exposure 4DR (which I owned). Amazing PRaT and drive although not the last word in imaging or refinement.

Made me forget the equipment, and just enjoyed the music as we spun record after record.

Epos ES11 driven by the smaller Exposure/Naims also made music, albeit on a smaller scale than ES14 with NAP250
 

tachyons

Active member
Listening to speakers like the ES14 and SBL in a Naim setup left me with a lasting impression of the sense of pace created by the leading edge, and the type of bass that is so fast it seems to catch up with the music instead of lagging behind. When I was younger, I was very much attracted to PRaT over refinement, if I had to choose.
 

zephyr11

Active member
How would you rate Epos speakers compared to Magico, which you mentioned was one of the best you've heard? Over 20 years ago, I had a wonderful session with the old ES14 at forumer Silklee's place, driven by his Naim setup. It made me realize how slow my Dynaudio was in a side-by-side comparison. The new ES14N looks so entirely different that I can no longer relate it to the old model.

Wah testing my not so professional/ good description and memory...

from my faint memory, magico A1/S1 top end sparkled and the air was there when you want it, mids were lush vocals were lifelike and etched out though the lows were a little light, in the audition room which was quite big for those speakers without sub, i feel it would still be sufficient for most. fit and finish was also something that was truly top end, paintwork, sculpting the cabinet, even the base of the speaker was sexy.

as for comparison of the magicos and epos, i still like the magicos better, overall sound, fit and finish, and just looks good even when it's not playing music, but also understand that the epos was made to fit a price point and magicos are made with almost no holes barred tech and burn money ideas.

honestly even if i had the money to own the magicos s1 or such, but i'm in my current space, i wouldn't, i would still be getting a bookshelf like the me1/oscar duo for that money.
 

tachyons

Active member
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One of the smallest active desktop speakers fully reproduces the warm sound of the Topping DX9 DAC and works well with a smartphone or laptop.
 

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tachyons

Active member
Yes, it's the G1, and I've set it up on the kitchen table. Although these tiny speakers are mainly intended for YouTube, getting the sound right still required some effort. The dedicated stand won't arrive for another 2 months, so I've resorted to makeshift footers to lift them off the desk surface, helping eliminate the unwanted bass gain that was saturating the mids. The soft trebles, slightly vague by design for this type of professional monitor, are well-suited for non-fatiguing near-field listening.

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tachyons

Active member
I've become a videophile. Another monitor has arrived; both are QD-OLED monitors. The wider one, with its 0.1 ms response time and 10-bit panel, looks better, while the smaller one is faster at 0.03 ms but has a less vibrant 8-bit panel.
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tachyons

Active member
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Just got another pair of black Genelec.
For the first time, I tried out the I2S connection on the Topping DX9 with these speakers. Although I2S is well-established as superior, I can hardly tell the difference between it and the Coax, AES, and USB connections.
 

tachyons

Active member
I just came back home from Sim Lim Tower with two pre-made Belden power cords, thinking they could improve the sound of my Genelec speakers. I was wrong. For the very first time, I found that the stock cable, with its brighter tone, sounds so much better.
 

Amon86

New member
I just came back home from Sim Lim Tower with two pre-made Belden power cords, thinking they could improve the sound of my Genelec speakers. I was wrong. For the very first time, I found that the stock cable, with its brighter tone, sounds so much better.
sometimes u might need to put there let it run in first like 100 hours then do a comparison in between them if it doesn't then sold those away....
 

tachyons

Active member
Later, I used those Belden power cords with a kettle to boil some water, aiming to speed up the break-in process. 😁
 
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