Epos M5i

[Cypher]

I heard these recently together with a Creek Evo amp. Awesome sound, very clear with lots of detail. Not so much bass but that's not a problem for me.

My question ; I have a Rotel RA-04 amp. Is this amp powerful enough for the M5i ? I know the Epos are difficult to drive. When an amp is not powerful enough I know you can damage the speakers. The RA-04 only has 40 watts.

Any ideas on this ?

 

[crusaderlord]

I have some Epos M5's (not the 5i's admittedly) and have driven them with an Arcam A70 (50W per channel) a reasonably close price bracket equivalent with your Rotel and the Arcam FMJ A32 (105w per channel). The A70 certainly had no problem in driving the Epos, yes the Epos specifications were 4 ohms load but they are not quite as hard to drive as you think. I seriously doubt that the Rotel would in any way be damaging.............. What i would say though is that the more powerful A32 has given the Epos a lot more body to the sound it produces, particularly in the bass and lower mid-range. It keeps its detail from the A70 but adds much more overall - a combination i expect of power, quality and tone of the amplifier. So i would think the Rotel should drive them ok, but a little more power would probably provide an even better sound from them.

 

[drummerman]

The M5's (or any of the current models in the line up) are not difficult to drive. They are less efficient than the larger ones but any modern amplifier will cope. The Rega Brio is able to play 'loud' and nice with them. Its more about quality.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the M5s driven by a PM6002 (45 watts), no problems at all. By the way, if you are UK based, Superfi are doing the outgoing M16s for £400. The old M5s seem to have disappeared off the site, though, so I guess they finally sold out - might be worth a couple of phone calls to check though, as they'd knocked the M5s down to £200 last week, which was disgustingly cheap.

 

[El Hefe]

I dont have the M5s but just bought the M12.2 a few days ago and the sound is superb. The speakers are bi-amped with MF X-A1 and X-50, meaning its running on 50 watts. I dont feel that they are difficult speakers to run. I bought them at 400 GBP.

The M5s are actually still on the website under 'Other Products'

 

[Cypher]

Thanks for all the answers. Tractorboy ; how is the sound coming from the PM6002/M5 combination ? Which CD player do you use ?

 

[Anonymous]

Much as you described in your original post. Very clear, sharp, precise sound with lean, punchy bass. It's this latter quality which is likely to be most divisive as regards the M5s, as the combination of brightish top end and lean bass will not suit everybody. They're also not very forgiving with poorly mastered music, but really light up with well produced albums. I run the combination off a Cambridge 540C v2, and have also heard the Epos and Marantz amp paired with the 6002 CD player, which also gave very good results.

 

[Cypher]

I always thought that the Epos M5 sounded exactly the same as the Monitor Audio RS1. But now I know better.......

Thanks for your answer Tractorboy.

 

[Cypher]

http://www.techradar.com/products/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/hi-fi-av-speakers/epos-m5i-407620/review

A review of the M5i. Not a very positive one though.............

 

[drummerman]

Cypher:

http://www.techradar.com/products/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/hi-fi-av-speakers/epos-m5i-407620/review

A review of the M5i. Not a very positive one though.............

This pretty much mirrors HIFI choices review of the 5i. Whilst I only briefly listened to the new version I could'nt say it was in any significant way worse or better than the model it superseded and which I like a lot. Perhaps I have to borrow them for a night but I would say that being the smallest (and very small) speaker in the M range it was always going to major on clarity, speed and attack rather than weight and scale. This is something common to most small relatively inexpensive speakers. The 12.2i will add some warmth and weight which in turn will give a more even balance, naturally. You find similar tonal 'foot prints' with Rega's R1 compared to the R3. These smaller versions are simply not capable of reproducing low frequencies with anything approaching realism but they have good xovers and drivers so are capable of clarity not found with cheaper speakers. Add a sub if necessary.

 

[Anonymous]

drummerman:Cypher:

http://www.techradar.com/products/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/hi-fi-av-speakers/epos-m5i-407620/review

A review of the M5i. Not a very positive one though.............

These smaller versions are simply not capable of reproducing low frequencies with anything approaching realism but they have good xovers and drivers so are capable of clarity not found with cheaper speakers. Add a sub if necessary.

Wise words. A decent sub and fast stand-mounter will give you superb results.

 

[Anonymous]

drummerman:This pretty much mirrors HIFI choices review of the 5i.

I think this is the review from HIFI choice. I read it the other day and this one looks identical. Are they connected to techradar?

 

[El Hefe]

I agree with drummerman. I actually had a listen to M5 before purchasing the M12.2 (note - the ones with 'i'). M5 did not produce enough bass for my liking. Hence opted for th M12.2 which produce enough bass on top of maintaining the clarity that M5 provides.

 

[timwileman]

agree with the above i have the epos m5i and love em...i am using with arcam a70 amp and source is roksan kandy cd player, fully agree with tractor boy on the sound and style, with well mastered music they sound wonderful - fast, clean and very precise.

make sure you put em on good stands, i want to fill mine now so they should improve even more

 

[Cypher]

I'm waiting for a review in What Hifi...................

 

[Anonymous]

You won't have any problems. They are not hard to drive really.

I've owned M5 and M12.2 (not the "i" versions). It's true that the M5 is really small, and cannot give you the scale and bass depth that the M12.2 gives you.

But in a certain way the M5 is more coherent for me. I think it has to do with the fact that the M12.2 has no crossover for the woofer. The woofers rolls-off mechanically on its own. The M5 has a traditional crossover. I think integration between drivers is better achieved on the M5. IMHO, of course.

 

[Cypher]

Tannoyite,

did you find them harsh sounding ? A bit bright in the treble ?

 

[Anonymous]

Cypher:
Tannoyite,

did you find them harsh sounding ? A bit bright in the treble ?

They can be, with wrong ancillary equipment. Avoid silver cables. Strangely enough, when you match them with Creek equipment, which can also be too bright, they sound quite smooth, although too shut-in and lacking in soundstage, for my taste.

I think the M series high frequency performance is very good and smooth; but the problem for me it's their balance. If you look at this frequency response graphic of the M5 (taken from a Stereofool review

), you will see a very pronounced dip on the crossover region (which is also the presence zone...and that's why the M series doesn't have much presence!). And also, the bass balance is very lean. Usually, small mini-monitors have a bit of emphasis there, to compensate the lack of weight that a small speaker inevitably has. The M series chooses a different approach, favoring bass speed and tautness over a more natural balance.

What happens when you listen to the M5 or M12.2 (which has a similar curve) is that when you start missing more presence and more bass, you tend to turn up the volume to a level where you feel more presence and bass; but at that level the treble becomes too prominent, and the speaker sounds harsh.

IMHO.