Bound For Sound Epitome
Review.
The Bound for
Sound Review, May 2000 is immediately after the preliminary comments.
(Scroll Down)
Subject: RE: Epitomes
Date: Mon, 17 May 1999
Hello Greg:
Nothing to worry about. I think the Titan Floorstander a wonderful
speaker and a bargain. And the Epitome, especially with the subs,
is one of the finest speakers ever to grace the confines of the
Big Rig. No need to go into details at this time, only that I
am very happy with your products. Reviews are forthcoming, and
they will be positive - you have earned it.
Good listening,
Marty:
Subject: RE: Epitomes
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 08:23:55 -0500
Dear Greg:
Some people have it made, my condolences to the Sultan on not
being #1 anymore,(Comment on being relegated to only 2nd richest
man in the world, on hearing that the Sultan of Brunei had chosen
the Grand Epitome for his Office, as part of a complete Osborn
Home Theater set up) but if he purchased the Epitomes he's
a pretty smart guy. The review will not disappoint. You are one
heck of a designer, a great speaker.
I'll be back soon.
Marty
Subject: RE: Epitomes
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 08:51:24 -0500
Hi Greg:
Let me say this about the speakers. The Epitomes sound very good
by themselves, but a transformation takes place
when the subs are added, and it's more than just an added octave
of bass. I've added subs before, but nothing like
this has ever happened before. With the subs the midrange opens
up, midrange tonal colors appear with such abundance
it's as if I had been listening in black and white. Dynamic contrasts
take on an ease that is natural and neutral - what
an accomplishment. I've heard some great speakers in the past,
but these are over the top. And I'm a pretty jaded
guy. Congrats.
Marty
Bound for Sound Report
Martin G. DeWulf
Editor & Publisher
108 East Division Street
Kewanee IL 61443
309.856.5515
309.853.3193 fax
e-mail at bfshifi@cin.net
The Class of 2000
In many respects, as this survey
winds down, we have saved some of the best for last. Very good
speakers have preceded these, of which the Merlin VSM was exceptional,
and there was the enesis APM-1, and the Silverline Grandeur -
no slackers there. It's with considerable pride then that I introduce
to the vast audiophile society of America the next three speakers.
Speakers that most of you have never heard of before, except in
these pages, that are very competitive with the best speakers
made in their respective price points… and then some.
The survey is not quite over, I'm still after a few manufacturers
to submit their best, but the end is in sight.
The Osborn Epitome Mk IV with
Extra Woofers, $8,300.
Osborn Loudspeakers, 17 Hammersley Court, Taylors Lakes 3038.
Victoria, Australia. www.osbornloudspeakers.com.au.
osspeak@ihug.com.au
The Epitome from Osborn comes in two configurations, one with
extra woofers, and one without. I've never seen it done this way
before, but I have to admit that it makes sense, and it does work.
The standard Epitome is a large floorstanding 3-way with what
is commonly referred to as a 10" woofer, though it actually
measures closer to 9" (it's the "two by four" thing,
but with drivers). With only the Epitome being used, there is
a toggle on the back of the speaker that is placed in the "up"
position. One can add another set of woofers in their own separate
enclosures with identical 10" woofers in each. These are
not subs, they are sonically identical to the woofers already
being utilized in the main cabinets, right down to each woofer
having identical cabinet measurements.
When the second set of woofers is added a couple of neat things
happen. First of all, when the added woofer drivers are on line,
the bass coupling of the drivers serves to extend bass response.
Not by a whole lot mind you because the internal volume of the
second set is the same as the first, but power in the sub 40 Hz
range is subtly more substantial. Also, efficiency does go up
3 dB with the second set of woofers, and with that the impedance
drops from about 6 Ohms to 4 Ohms.
When the second set of woofers is added, one moves the toggle
on the back to the "down" position. This change of the
toggle increases the efficiency of the midrange and tweeter section
by 3 dB for a better match with the increased efficiency of the
woofer section. This increase in efficiency with the Epitome bass
units puts the speaker at about 93 dB, as opposed to around 90
dB without the addition woofs. The only real negative to this
add on bass architecture is the requirement of three sets of speaker
cables - a biwire set to the standard Epitome and another set
to the extra bass units.
The increase in bass output and increased efficiency are not the
only benefits to adding the extra woofers. Recall that when the
extra woofers are added, the toggle controlling the midrange and
tweeter drivers on each speaker is reset to a new position. What
you are doing when the toggle is switched is bypass a series of
resistors in line with the mid and tweet. These resistors must
be in line when only one set of woofers are in place to step down
the efficiency of the mid and tweet drivers so that they'll match
the lower efficiency woofer in output. Increase the efficiency
of the
bass section by adding more woofers, and those resistors can be
taken out of the circuit - that's what the flick of a switch does.
I heard a definable improvement in sound quality from the mid
and tweet drivers with the resistors out of the circuit - the
stage blossomed and the dynamic content exhibited greater contrasts.
Very nice.
The final benefit that I can ascertain from adding the second
set of woofers is the increased ability of the speaker to energize
air at those frequencies that need it the most - the middle bass
and upper bass. With two more woofers in place, each individual
woofer moves less to create the same bass sound pressure levels.
It's a fact of physics that in the case of large diameter woofers,
the less they travel, the less distortion they exhibit. Efficiency
goes up, and distortion goes down, I'll take that trade off any
day. Crossovers are second order at 125 Hz and 2100 Hz. When the
second set of woofers are added they are low passed at 60 Hz.
Since I was in the cabinets a couple of times there were a few
things to be observed. All the inductors are hand wound, no off
the shelf products. The appearance is a little "home made"
when the inductors are produced this way, but one has the assurance
that the values chosen were not pre-set by some far off manufacturer
who only makes pre-set values. In the case of the Osborn, the
inductor values are set precisely by hand for each application.
Ideally, this is the way you do it in spite of the extra time
and patience it takes. Caps were various, but names like Solen
were observed. Internal speaker wire is the excellent Megatwistlan
data transfer cable; great internal cabling, but hard to solder
and work on.
Cabinets were well braced with heavy duty crossmembers. The front
baffle is double think (1.5"), and a rap on it produced a
nice clean "clack". Connections for biwiring were via
two sets of inexpensive posts set inside the ubiquitous "plastic
cup." I didn't like this aspect of the design. The terminals
used would have been more at home in a $500 speaker, I don't care
for them in a product as upscale as this. This is the high rent
district for loudspeakers and I would like terminals more fitting
- and dump the plastic cup. Each speaker has four screw in spikes
for the base, they work well.
Use and Sound.
Over the last three years my understanding
of loudspeakers has grown appreciably. Interactions between loudspeakers
and power amplifiers are much better understood today than they
were even a few years back. I therefore cherish a design as amplifier
friendly as is this one.
Which doesn't mean that every amp will drive it optimally. With
the extra woofers attached the impedance comes in at about 4 Ohms,
and that's low enough that tube amps, even with the taps set at
four ohms, have difficulty loosening up and getting down. Transistor
amps, on the other hand, routinely drove the Epitome with ease,
including some amps that had difficulty driving other four Ohm
speakers in house such as the RBH. The Highs: All drivers are
from Focal. The tweeter is an inverted dome, distinguished by
its bright yellow color. This tweeter's dynamic range is legendary,
as is its cantankerous nature and difficulty to tame. I admire
Greg Osborn for having the will to take on a difficult driver,
seeing not the difficulties of implementation, but the potential
benefits instead. For the most part, I would say that he has won
this round, and that the high frequency performance of this speaker
is a success. In comparison, soft dome tweeters, even the finest,
are somewhat forgiving in nature. After all, they are soft and
they are less prone to ring at audible frequencies, they have
a fair share of damping built directly into them. The Focal, on
the other hand, sounds more immediate in its response, it can
be a "ringer", and it has superior rendition of the
harmonics that can stretch well into inaudibility.
With the Epitome care has been taken to implement the Focal tweeter
in a manner that its resolving abilities and explosive dynamic
characteristics are not spoiled by a driver out of control. Hence
the highs of this speaker are not "soft" sounding, not
are edges truncated in favor of a safer sound. Nasties added at
prior locations in the playback chain remain nasties when they
exit the Epitome, though I think it is safe to say that they are
no nastier on account of the Epitome. On the other hand when playing
a recording where care has been given the capture of accurate
cymbal work, reeds and strings, a realism can result that is captivating
in its imagery and presence.
I've mentioned elsewhere in this issue the enchanting yet explosive
nature of the electronic harp when played by Andreas Vollenweider.
A fair portion of the harp's range is within that of the Focal
tweeter in the Epitome. And it is here that we are exposed to
the coexisting strength and weakness of the tweeter in this design.
Listen to the Vollenweider harp, it pierces the air almost like
high-frequency rifle fire. As the harp ascends its scale, going
from midrange driver to tweeter, one can notice a change in character
to the instrument. During the transition from mid to tweet, and
I don't want to exaggerate the experience, but its almost like
going from cruising to lightspeed in a Star Wars movie episode.
The tweeter brings home the tension and percussive quality of
each string struck, and powerfully so.
I suppose that Osborn could choose to use a less responsive tweeter
so as to effect a smoother transition from mid to tweet, but then
some of the excitement and energy would certainly be lost in the
translation higher up in frequency.
The Midrange: From Focal again, the midrange driver is 6"
in diameter, and employs a stationary phase plug at its center.
The cone material is referred to as "poly glass." Whatever
it is, it's grey in appearance and has a positive weight to area
ratio, it's a composite material. This driver covers approximately
four octaves, but in many respects those octaves covered may be
the most important of all. A good driver here is a must.
I can see why Greg chose this driver, even if it brought with
it a minor transient mismatch with the tweeter. I think he knew
a fast and responsive driver was needed, but I also think that
he favors a driver with some surface area to cover the midrange.
The ability to excite larger quantities of air becomes a factor
once gets below 1000 Hz or so. For a long time it has been observed
in BFS that small (3" - 4") midrange drivers miss something
when it comes to delivering the expanse of a large ensemble. Moving
smaller amounts of air adds to imaging precision, but it detracts
from the power of a single voice to the majesty of the full symphonic
work. Moving coil drivers are like that, though speakers such
as the Pipedreams and Legacy's Whisper have found ways to address
this conundrum while creating a few of their own in the process.
Like Greg Osborn, I too feel the 6" moving coil driver to
be a wise balance between too much driver
area, and not enough for the midrange. As a result, with the Epitome
one has a loudspeaker that images precisely, though without the
laser-like exactness that some have come to feel is artificial;
there is a Spendor-like flavor here. It will reproduce the immensity
of a large orchestral work without sounding overblown, ah, therein
lies the problem with too much driver area, the propensity to
sound overblown and whitewashed. Not a problem with the Epitome,
it feels appropriate in both worlds.
Going down to 125 Hz before handing off to the woofer means that
this midrange driver has been given responsibility for a fair
portion of the upper bass. This lower portion of the midrange
is largely responsible for the dimensionality that we hear in
recordings, and it is the impact. Hear an explosion, a big bass
wack, or earth shaking rumble. The leading edge and detailing
is all in the midrange, even though we naturally think of it as
bass. Another reason for a large midrange driver. This is an area
where I feel the Epitome again excels; partially due to it not
having too much lower midrange warmth. It's a temptation to load
up on the range of 100 Hz to 400 Hz., and many speakers have build
a reputation for fine sound by doing so. At first blush, it's
the speaker that manages to tastefully overload the lower midrange
that comes off as the more seductive, over time however, this
bloat in the foundation range lends a continuous color to every
recording played, texture is reduced also. The Epitome has struck
up a tasteful balance in the lower midrange and upper mids that
is satisfying and revealing at the same time. And ultimately it
is extremely satisfying. A near perfect balance is struck between
the stretched strings and the body of the cello and string bass.
Where some speakers do the body of the instrument, and some do
the strings - the Epitome integrates the two.
Which brings us to the Bass: The lone Epitome does the bass quite
well with the 10" driver in a large enclosure. 30 Hz cranks,
25 Hz is there, and 20 Hz can be heard. Compared to the standard,
generic loudspeaker, the Epitome is a great speaker for bass.
Add the extra woofers, and the Epitome is a bass monster. Mind
you, it doesn't go overboard and blubber things all up. But put
on Shinjuku Thief's "Bloody Tourist" and listen to cut
four. At around three minutes the sub-audible bass starts. On
some, most, speakers the bass notes go by unheard, and unnoticed.
Some speakers, even some subs that I've heard recently only hint
at what is going on at the depths this recording possesses - they
don't give you the twenty and under Hz, but they overemphasize
the 30 Hz and above. The Epitome with extra woofers emphasizes
nothing, nor does it downplay real bass. Shinjuku Thief, cut 4,
you won't hear it, but it you have the amplifier, it will vibrate
you right out of your chair. No room vibrations, no room buzzes,
just this sensation that you and the chair you are in are going
to move across the room.
I've heard some very expensive subs pale in comparison. Because
of the solidarity of the enclosures, the savvy of the crossovers,
the quality of the focal bass drivers, the bass of the Epitome,
especially with extra woofers, tracks with speed and precision
all the way up to the midrange drivers - a beautiful transition.
As a result, that reverb and room decay that accompanies a great
bass recording in a great system is all there with the Epitome.
No excuses need be made here.
In the photo that accompanies this review you will see the extra
woofers placed to the inside of the made tower. In the end, the
best sound and the arrangement that I ended up with was with the
extra woofers to the outside of the main towers, and all the cabinets
closer to the rear wall than shown in the photo.
Intangibles: The Epitome with extra woofers is more speaker than
an a study of its individual parts would indicate.
Other than the Merlin VSM with BAM, the Epitome/woofers told me
more than any other speaker in this survey about the components
driving it. Change a power cord on the transport? I heard the
difference. Change interconnects between the processor and preamp?
I could immediately hear which was better. Listen for directionality
on high priced Toslinks? Not a problem with this speaker.
Some people say that power amplifiers all sound the same as long
as certain specs are similar - wrongo o' deaf ones. Or maybe they
just need to start listening with the Osborns.
Using the SimAudio W3 on the Epitome/woofers allowed me to think
I had the speakers pegged for sound. Nope. When I inserted the
Stratos amp from Odyssey those characteristics I had pinned to
the Osborns were gone. I had been hearing the W3. With the Stratos
a whole new set of sonic characteristics arose. Using the Dual
Sierra Denalis with the Epitome/woofers allowed me to hear and
evaluate everything that exceptional amp did, and didn't do. I
am of the strong opinion that this ability to see through a speaker
is what an audiophile needs the most in a speaker.
Constant colorations can work in some situations, but eventually,
the mask will cover more than blemishes. To a sometimes spectacular
and stunning extent, the Epitome with Woofers reveals the heart
of the music being played. A
Bound for Sound Reference.
Conclusion.
After all is said and done, maybe
the best thing about the Epitome/Woofers is the ease and unrestricted
nature of the sound it reproduces. From a whisper to ear deafening
levels the speaker always maintains its composure, I really couldn't
upset it. I attribute much of the unflappable nature of the speaker
to the expansive and unrestricted way it energizes a room - power
flows from it
enthusiastically, and that enthusiasm is contagious. And
if you have the opportunity to listen to the Epitome, listen for
imaging. Regardless of frequency, images retain a natural size
and dimension. Remember the 6" midrange driver? It keeps
the images in the midrange in tune with the power of the speaker
in the bass. Power wise, the speaker is very linear in that it
loads the room in a
fashion that is not dominated by any one closely clumped set of
frequencies. Hence, you never get the feeling that one aspect
of the sound dominates all others to their detriment. Which brings
me back to the ease by which this speaker reproduces music. It's
the opposite of stressful even when the music is tense and full
of anxiety. For when small systems are pushed they tend to add
to the presentation a nervous nature that may or not be present
in the music. This, I feel, adds significantly to what is perceived
as
listener fatigue. With the Epitome, fatigue is not part of the
listening equation, as even high strung music like that from the
X-Files Soundtrack involves without burning one out. You can actually
participate in the performance to the extent that you want to.
After listening to more speakers than I can count over the last
year or so, the Epitome Mk. IV with Extra Woofers is one of the
few that continues to invite me to listening session after listening
session, to recording after recording. With every new power amplifier,
or preamp, or processor that comes in, I can't wait to put them
in the Big Rig with the Epitome to discover how much further I
can open
up the window full range. This is a Component of Exceptional Merit.
(By time you read this, the manufacturer will have incorporated
several improvements into the design which should improve things
even more.)
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