This entry was posted by Winslow on September 26, 2009 at 10:27 am under Uncategorized.
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23 Comments
Scott McNealus says:
Hi Winslow!
I used to sell for you when you owned Burhoe Acoustics. Great to hear you’re back in the audio game again. You look just like I remember you. And that’s – what – 30 years ago. Gulp.
Two things:
1) You were the forerunner of home theater with the system you debuted in NYC in 1980(?). It featured two Crimsons and a subwoofer up front. And two rear speakers on a variable time delay in back. Nobody had anything like it.
2) What happened to the inverted dome? How does it compare to the fabric domes of today?
Soft dome tweeters can have relatively flat frequency response to surprisingly high frequencies because the soft parts of the dome flutter independently of the voice coil. Listeners with good high frequency hearing often prefer the greater linearity of the stiff inverted dome, although with some materials and configurations, metallic domes can have ringing.
Believe it or not my daughter in North Wales, Pa owns a pair of EPI-100 speakers, as does my brother in Portland, Oregon. Just thought I’d let you know the EPI’s are working fine and are all original with no parts ever being replaced. I do not know the year I purchased both pairs, but both pairs were purchased by me a decade or so after my original pair crashed on me via a friend’s bad judgement. (There were cosmetic changes to the newer pairs). I gave one pair as an xmas gift to my brother and the other pair a purchased for my daughter because I liked them. Hey, they enjoy them to this day. Rightly so! Stay healthy, JFM.
Hi Winslow. I do remember your designs from back in the day. Back then tubes amps were very common and the past few years the tube amps have been doing very well. How will your speakers perform with vintage or modern tube amps?
I have a modified Dynaco ST 70 by Tom Tutay of Transition Audio Design. It’s been my main amplifier for the past 10+ years. Tube amps can be pretty fat in the bottom end. I’m using a pair of Spica TC-60’s in my system now. Since your speakers produce such great bass will they have a bloated sound when being used with Vintage tube amps or are they a better match with solid state amps?
Thanks
Pon
I have not researched this question. My understanding is that solid state amplifiers tend to have lower output impedance and hence higher damping factors. I am tempted to do some research on this matter. Meanwhile, I can only repeat my comment from below that, in my opinion room position has a much greater effect than damping factor.
There is one critical idea missing from the discussion of labor and value. It is not only government that has the power to confiscate property from individuals. Large organizations may acquire this power independent of any government regulations. This can take place through monopolistic control of scarce resources or through power acquired as a consequence of individuals developing capabilities that are specialized to the organization. The latter case would not be a problem if individuals had the omniscience assumed in textbook economics and if the division of labor did not increase productivity of individuals who work in systems that involve mutual specialization of skills. The analysis becomes far more complex when these ideas are introduced.
For what it’s worth, I have often thought about the labor put into making my silent speakers….
My comments on economics are not intended to be all-inclusive. Primarily I want to point out the importance of productivity and work as the foundation of all wealth. Concerns about monopolies, large organizations, etc. seem to me to be without foundation or evidence, excepting those underwritten by government.
In the free market, omniscience is completely unnecessary, only a proper sense of self-preservation. Increased productivity is highly to be desired and comes from division of labor, specialization and training as well as other forms of culture. And especially trade.
When trade is analyzed in terms of labor and productivity, it is not so much complex as unquantifiable.
After my polite but very musical Spendors SP1’s bit the dust, I was very depressed. However, I took a sight unseen chance, and it paid off.
The Silent Speaker II’s are a real pleasure. Yes, I had to fiddle with cables. An old pair of AudioQuests sounded awful (they sound fine by with my bookshelf Vocals). I’m not sure what cable I’m using now, I’ve had them such a long time, but they let the speakers open up.
Anyway, I did find that I needed to put rubber floor protectors between the speakers and my pine floor. Otherwise I get some speaker cabinet vibration at a lower note. With the rubber to float on, all is well.
I haven’t tried to fine a “sweet spot.” My space doesn’t allow for that. I play vinyl and CDs, and obviously the sound depends on the source.
Anyway, my wife (who’s particularly sensitive to “digital” high notes) and I are very pleased.
Thank you.
Hi Win. Found your page here while looking at Energy 22’s on the web. You’ll recall I worked for you in the lab at Audio Products for a little while. I have yet to hear anything that beats the Energy 22, and that’s been a long time now.
How are you dealing with the MP3 generation? I don’t have a single audio device in my home that doesn’t sound like a bean can on a string, and my young nieces/nephews don’t seem to notice at all.
Mr. Burhoe:
I’ve been after a pair of Burhoe Blues for eons and have finally found a pair. However, the woofers are missing. Could you give me some information of what type of woofer was used in the Blues and where they might be available?
Just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed your contributions to the audio industry. I was fortunate to be able to purchase my EPI 100w’s back around 1980 and have always considered my choice to be an excellent one. I’ve had an assortment of other speakers, but the EPI’s always end up as my main speakers. I have replaced the woofer surrounds but haven’t had to touch the capacitors yet, they still sound great to my ears. If I didn’t have two kids to put through college in the not too distant future I would buy your new Silent Speakers in a heartbeat. I see the price has risen over the years, but have no doubt they are a bargain at what you are selling them for. I will hold out as long as I can with the EPI’s but look forward to when I can finally experience the results of your hard work in the Silent Speakers! All the best to you.
As you may recall, I worked for you at EPI as Western Regional Supervisor back in the ’70’s. Since, back in those days, there was a big flap going on between supporters of “East Coast” or “West Coast” sound, it was a daunting task to present EPI to lovers of JBL and Altec Lansing loudspeakers.
I think we finally prevailed! Good to see that you are still active in the biz! I have fond memories of our travels together.
Winslow:
I have recently become addicted to speaker re-building in general and EPI specifically. I tried my hand at building speakers from scratch but found out my wood working skills were poor. My first pair of EPI’s was a 100M, found in very good shape. Put some new crossover components into it and they sounded magical. Next I found an excellent pair of M602’s and likewise rebuilt to crossovers, added some upgraded wiring, these still have the original rubber surrounds. The chip board enclosures do not hold up very well to the screw removal and re-installation, seem to be a little thin where they are recessed. Will look at fixes and stiffening later on. Have these along a long wall and everyone comments on them, both looks and sound. Next I found a pair of M400 towers, still with the original boxes. Sounded very good when I bought them but they are still in the boxes, have not looked at these any further, future project. Next I found a pair of 100V, had one blown tweeter, again, future work. Ran across a pair of M350 towers for $25, a little beat on the cabinets, surrounds all had to be replaced and had one blown tweeter. Grills were stained by enclosures were OK. Just finished my rebuild with new crossovers and wires, boy, there are heavy! Early listening is sounded good and going through the break-in. Have to figure out new grills, the perforated plastic has deteoriated and has cracked in many places when I removed the original grill cloth.. Just found a pair of 150’s in good shape, my next project.
Now my questions:
1) I was re-building the M 350 towers and the schematic shown on Human Speakers web site did not match the actual wiring. Tweeters were ok, Top one in Parallel with the two side one, which were in series. All the woofers were all wired in series, one red wire ran from a wire wound, hollow core resistor to all of the woofers, none were in parallel. Was there a change, my serial numbers are 01911 and 01911. They sound good as is.
2) The M350 had masonite flange tweeters on each side baffle. The Top baffle has the Plastic budged inverted dome tweeters. I did notice they did not mount into the recessed baffle, they actually seated on the face of the baffle because of the larger diameter. Was this original or should I swap them with the masonite one’s.
2) Know anywhere I can get new perforated grill plastic for the M350’s? Have not been able to locate this. Struggling on how to design a replacement grill with the grooves, I think they look nice. The original one fell apart when I was removing it, old age.
3) Would you recommend replacing the M602 rubber surrounds with foam, they seem to be in OK shape but I heard they get stiff over time.
Thanks and will continue to enjoy your designs. If you are interested in photos, please let me know.
I finally had my Epicure 400 speakers rebuilt by Huw Powell. He did a great job however the resisters were taken out leaving no toggle adjustment!! I have tried everything from speaker placement to sound absorbing material and the tweeters are still BRIGHT. I always had the toggle switch on the low setting. Do you recommend putting a resister to tone down the tweeters?
Than you for designing great speakers!!!
George Motsis
Scott McNealus says:
Hi Winslow!
I used to sell for you when you owned Burhoe Acoustics. Great to hear you’re back in the audio game again. You look just like I remember you. And that’s – what – 30 years ago. Gulp.
Two things:
1) You were the forerunner of home theater with the system you debuted in NYC in 1980(?). It featured two Crimsons and a subwoofer up front. And two rear speakers on a variable time delay in back. Nobody had anything like it.
2) What happened to the inverted dome? How does it compare to the fabric domes of today?
Best of luck,
June 4, 2010, 4:45 pmScott Mc
Winslow says:
HI Scott,
Thanks for the memory.
Soft dome tweeters can have relatively flat frequency response to surprisingly high frequencies because the soft parts of the dome flutter independently of the voice coil. Listeners with good high frequency hearing often prefer the greater linearity of the stiff inverted dome, although with some materials and configurations, metallic domes can have ringing.
June 7, 2010, 9:03 pmjames McKinski says:
Believe it or not my daughter in North Wales, Pa owns a pair of EPI-100 speakers, as does my brother in Portland, Oregon. Just thought I’d let you know the EPI’s are working fine and are all original with no parts ever being replaced. I do not know the year I purchased both pairs, but both pairs were purchased by me a decade or so after my original pair crashed on me via a friend’s bad judgement. (There were cosmetic changes to the newer pairs). I gave one pair as an xmas gift to my brother and the other pair a purchased for my daughter because I liked them. Hey, they enjoy them to this day. Rightly so! Stay healthy, JFM.
May 21, 2011, 1:13 amPon Man says:
Hi Winslow. I do remember your designs from back in the day. Back then tubes amps were very common and the past few years the tube amps have been doing very well. How will your speakers perform with vintage or modern tube amps?
I have a modified Dynaco ST 70 by Tom Tutay of Transition Audio Design. It’s been my main amplifier for the past 10+ years. Tube amps can be pretty fat in the bottom end. I’m using a pair of Spica TC-60’s in my system now. Since your speakers produce such great bass will they have a bloated sound when being used with Vintage tube amps or are they a better match with solid state amps?
May 21, 2011, 1:44 pmThanks
Pon
Winslow says:
Thanks for the comment
May 21, 2011, 8:23 pmWinslow says:
I have not researched this question. My understanding is that solid state amplifiers tend to have lower output impedance and hence higher damping factors. I am tempted to do some research on this matter. Meanwhile, I can only repeat my comment from below that, in my opinion room position has a much greater effect than damping factor.
May 21, 2011, 8:33 pmJim Milton says:
Have you shown these at CEDIA, CES, Rocky Mountain or T.H.E. Show? Is there a showroom for auditions? Would love to hear them…
June 10, 2011, 1:34 pmWinslow says:
none of the below
June 12, 2011, 4:04 pmMark Doyle says:
Great blog! Keep the good stuff coming!
July 11, 2011, 7:27 pmJim Robins says:
Re: Personal opinions on labor and value.
There is one critical idea missing from the discussion of labor and value. It is not only government that has the power to confiscate property from individuals. Large organizations may acquire this power independent of any government regulations. This can take place through monopolistic control of scarce resources or through power acquired as a consequence of individuals developing capabilities that are specialized to the organization. The latter case would not be a problem if individuals had the omniscience assumed in textbook economics and if the division of labor did not increase productivity of individuals who work in systems that involve mutual specialization of skills. The analysis becomes far more complex when these ideas are introduced.
For what it’s worth, I have often thought about the labor put into making my silent speakers….
January 1, 2012, 4:12 amWinslow says:
My comments on economics are not intended to be all-inclusive. Primarily I want to point out the importance of productivity and work as the foundation of all wealth. Concerns about monopolies, large organizations, etc. seem to me to be without foundation or evidence, excepting those underwritten by government.
In the free market, omniscience is completely unnecessary, only a proper sense of self-preservation. Increased productivity is highly to be desired and comes from division of labor, specialization and training as well as other forms of culture. And especially trade.
When trade is analyzed in terms of labor and productivity, it is not so much complex as unquantifiable.
January 8, 2012, 8:26 pmJJ says:
In the past you have said that you have had difficulty finding inverted dome tweeters.
Do you know about these inverted dome tweeters from Tang Band.
http://www.tb-speaker.com/detail/1208_03/25-1372sc.htm
I saw them in a recent Parts Express catalog.
February 23, 2012, 8:34 pmWinslow says:
Very interesting
February 26, 2012, 4:48 pmDavis Hall says:
After my polite but very musical Spendors SP1’s bit the dust, I was very depressed. However, I took a sight unseen chance, and it paid off.
March 3, 2012, 6:33 pmThe Silent Speaker II’s are a real pleasure. Yes, I had to fiddle with cables. An old pair of AudioQuests sounded awful (they sound fine by with my bookshelf Vocals). I’m not sure what cable I’m using now, I’ve had them such a long time, but they let the speakers open up.
Anyway, I did find that I needed to put rubber floor protectors between the speakers and my pine floor. Otherwise I get some speaker cabinet vibration at a lower note. With the rubber to float on, all is well.
I haven’t tried to fine a “sweet spot.” My space doesn’t allow for that. I play vinyl and CDs, and obviously the sound depends on the source.
Anyway, my wife (who’s particularly sensitive to “digital” high notes) and I are very pleased.
Thank you.
David Walker says:
Hi Win. Found your page here while looking at Energy 22’s on the web. You’ll recall I worked for you in the lab at Audio Products for a little while. I have yet to hear anything that beats the Energy 22, and that’s been a long time now.
How are you dealing with the MP3 generation? I don’t have a single audio device in my home that doesn’t sound like a bean can on a string, and my young nieces/nephews don’t seem to notice at all.
May 31, 2012, 8:24 pmWinslow says:
I don’t use MP3. Itunes allows uncompressed recordings.
June 1, 2012, 2:41 pmGeorge Clarke says:
Mr. Burhoe:
I’ve been after a pair of Burhoe Blues for eons and have finally found a pair. However, the woofers are missing. Could you give me some information of what type of woofer was used in the Blues and where they might be available?
Cheers
November 11, 2012, 9:47 pmJohn Keifer says:
Hello Mr Burhoe,
Just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed your contributions to the audio industry. I was fortunate to be able to purchase my EPI 100w’s back around 1980 and have always considered my choice to be an excellent one. I’ve had an assortment of other speakers, but the EPI’s always end up as my main speakers. I have replaced the woofer surrounds but haven’t had to touch the capacitors yet, they still sound great to my ears. If I didn’t have two kids to put through college in the not too distant future I would buy your new Silent Speakers in a heartbeat. I see the price has risen over the years, but have no doubt they are a bargain at what you are selling them for. I will hold out as long as I can with the EPI’s but look forward to when I can finally experience the results of your hard work in the Silent Speakers! All the best to you.
November 28, 2014, 12:01 pmHugh Solaas says:
Hi, Win!
As you may recall, I worked for you at EPI as Western Regional Supervisor back in the ’70’s. Since, back in those days, there was a big flap going on between supporters of “East Coast” or “West Coast” sound, it was a daunting task to present EPI to lovers of JBL and Altec Lansing loudspeakers.
I think we finally prevailed! Good to see that you are still active in the biz! I have fond memories of our travels together.
July 21, 2016, 3:24 pmJack Masseth says:
Winslow:
I have recently become addicted to speaker re-building in general and EPI specifically. I tried my hand at building speakers from scratch but found out my wood working skills were poor. My first pair of EPI’s was a 100M, found in very good shape. Put some new crossover components into it and they sounded magical. Next I found an excellent pair of M602’s and likewise rebuilt to crossovers, added some upgraded wiring, these still have the original rubber surrounds. The chip board enclosures do not hold up very well to the screw removal and re-installation, seem to be a little thin where they are recessed. Will look at fixes and stiffening later on. Have these along a long wall and everyone comments on them, both looks and sound. Next I found a pair of M400 towers, still with the original boxes. Sounded very good when I bought them but they are still in the boxes, have not looked at these any further, future project. Next I found a pair of 100V, had one blown tweeter, again, future work. Ran across a pair of M350 towers for $25, a little beat on the cabinets, surrounds all had to be replaced and had one blown tweeter. Grills were stained by enclosures were OK. Just finished my rebuild with new crossovers and wires, boy, there are heavy! Early listening is sounded good and going through the break-in. Have to figure out new grills, the perforated plastic has deteoriated and has cracked in many places when I removed the original grill cloth.. Just found a pair of 150’s in good shape, my next project.
Now my questions:
1) I was re-building the M 350 towers and the schematic shown on Human Speakers web site did not match the actual wiring. Tweeters were ok, Top one in Parallel with the two side one, which were in series. All the woofers were all wired in series, one red wire ran from a wire wound, hollow core resistor to all of the woofers, none were in parallel. Was there a change, my serial numbers are 01911 and 01911. They sound good as is.
2) The M350 had masonite flange tweeters on each side baffle. The Top baffle has the Plastic budged inverted dome tweeters. I did notice they did not mount into the recessed baffle, they actually seated on the face of the baffle because of the larger diameter. Was this original or should I swap them with the masonite one’s.
2) Know anywhere I can get new perforated grill plastic for the M350’s? Have not been able to locate this. Struggling on how to design a replacement grill with the grooves, I think they look nice. The original one fell apart when I was removing it, old age.
3) Would you recommend replacing the M602 rubber surrounds with foam, they seem to be in OK shape but I heard they get stiff over time.
Thanks and will continue to enjoy your designs. If you are interested in photos, please let me know.
Jack
August 31, 2016, 4:16 pmWinslow says:
I don’t know the model 350. I prefer rubber surrounds.
September 1, 2016, 5:09 pmGeorge Mtsis says:
Good morning Winslow,
I finally had my Epicure 400 speakers rebuilt by Huw Powell. He did a great job however the resisters were taken out leaving no toggle adjustment!! I have tried everything from speaker placement to sound absorbing material and the tweeters are still BRIGHT. I always had the toggle switch on the low setting. Do you recommend putting a resister to tone down the tweeters?
May 14, 2019, 10:05 amThan you for designing great speakers!!!
George Motsis
Winslow says:
Didn’t you ask Huw?
I don’t remember exactly. Probably four or eight ohms.
May 16, 2019, 4:51 pm