[Harmon]

    I am considering purchasing the T-36 stereo speakers from EFE Technology. These speakers are designed and built by Ed Frias. Does anyone have EFE Technology speakers and be willing to give a few comments? Thanks   

[Daygloworange]

I have built 2 pair of EFE's. They are the AR.com that a lot of people rave about. You can see them in my gallery:





One is the stock AR.com crossover from Madisound. I built it as a floorstander as opposed to a bookshelf.

The other is a modded crossover for the AR.com by Danny from GR Research. The Madisound crossover was updated once by Ed after having talked to Danny. I have the updated version of Ed's crossover.

The flipped configuration (woofer on top, tweeter on bottom, is a simple fix for some of the issues that the  AR.com has. See Danny's findings on the response of this speaker here:

http://www.gr-research.com/edspeaker.shtm

I would describe EFE AR.com as being quite colored. They lower mids seem scooped, and the overall sound is kinda laid back. The top end is tricky, and quite hot. You can play a lot with resistor values to tame it, but it's definitely off. It does extend quite low for it's volume, but I've since built a lot of speakers and feel that this one is not in the audiophile category. It's not bad but I wouldn't write home about it. The crossover that Danny did for this speaker makes it sound quite a bit smoother, and has a more accurate and flatter response. Same drivers, but 2 different speakers.

It was a fun first entry into the DIY thing, and led me to learning a whole lot about speakers, so it was well worth it to me.

Cheers

[mscdda]

I have Ed's top-of-the-line T-60s as my mains.  I also have the T-22s, matching center channel and Ed's surround sound processor.  I've been very happy with every EFE product.  They sound very lively and realistic.  All the usual audiophile qualities are there: soundstage, bass, detail, etc . . . But, most importantly, they make me forget about equipment and just enjoy listening to the music.

The only downside to EFE speakers is the difficulty in auditioning a pair.  If you contact Ed, he may be able to refer you to an owner in your area that will let you have a listen.  A guy in my area did that, auditioned the T-22s at my house, and ended up ordering a pair. 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

--Mike

[Larkston Zinaspic]

I have owned the T-36s for several years now. I'd say they are excellent speakers, but finding the right synergy among components with them has not been an easy task, and I'm still working on it.

So far the best thing I've done was to take the Sovtek tube out of my ARC LS2 and replace it with an old Bugle Boy. I didn't expect that there would be much difference, but the darker midrange "bloom" has smooted out the upper mids and sweetened the highs, and the T-36s sound more musical and less analytical as a result. The Bugle Boy may not be the perfect match, but I'm not going back to Sovteks again.

It also might be a good idea to ask Ed for a box of tweeter resistors to taylor the high end to your tastes/components.