[oakleaf]

Alright!   Just purchased the $1500 system yesterday.  Very excited about this purchase!  Usually I spend days reviewing/listening to this stuff, but unfortunately I cannot where I'm at.  So I'm going on reviews alone (plus a conversation with Klaus.)

I'm an "imaging" nut, loving my first entry into hifi with John Bau's Spica TC-50's.  In fact, no other audiophilia experience has made such an impression on me that they have.  I wanted some nice "budget" bookshelf speakers to put on stands that would image like crazy where I'm at.  So I did an internet search and the Epiphonies were one set that popped up.  After reading many reviews on many brands I'm trusting in the "EnjoyTheMusic" review and a few others on the Epiphonies I found surfing.  The SoundStage! review hooked me for the whole system.  (Was going to have my wife ship me an amp and pre-amp.)

This will be fun!  I'll soon know how good this system is and how reliable these reviews are.  So far so good.  Customer Service, after talking with Klaus, seems fantastic!

[jcoat007]

Klaus is a great guy and he offers a seriously good product for a very reasonable cost.

Let us know how you like the $1,500 system.  I have been rying to get my father-in-law to buy that system.

[oakleaf]

I will definately let you know what I think of the system.  I have friends in the Speaker Building DIY community (they participate in these DIY events like the Chicago AudioFest) that aren't familiar with Odyssey Audio.  They post at the Mad Board (www.madisound.com).  One of the posters offered to build me a set of speakers, but after reading the "Enjoy the Music" review I just have to try the Epiphonies!  He is interested in how they sound so I may post my thoughts of the whole $1500 system there.

[rosconey]

u cant  go wrong with klaus's stuff

[Scott F.]

Hi oakleaf.

Thanks for trusting my ears.

If you are an imaging junkie, you are in for a real treat. The $1500 system coupled to the Epiphony's will be right up your alley. The Epiphony's do some really cool 'audiophile' things, imaging being right at the top of the list.

When you first plug in the system, plan on it being a bit closed and constrained sounding. Don't panic, it definately opens up after you give it plenty of play time.

Be sure to give the entire system ample break in time. The transformer based pre will probably take the longest to open up. I'd suggest that you take an old CD player (or DVD player), pop in a CD and hit repeat. Let it play 24/7 for a week or two at a moderate volume (read=not low). Granted, thats alot of hours but at the end of it, the system should be nice and 'open' sounding.

Be sure that you use a nice, 'dead' sounding pair of speaker stands for the Epiphony's. If you don't, the stands will tend to embellish the bass and mid-bass making them sound a bit muddy. If you don't have any yet (and you are handy), my Stubby design over at TNT-Audio.com is a quick, easy and inexpensive stand that sounds way better than it should.

When it comes to placing the Epiphony's in your room, don't be afraid to toe them all the way in where they are literally pointing right at your ears. Use a laser pointer to point them right where your head is in your listening seat. If that is too much detail for you, start slowly toeing them out (say) a foot at a time until you find your sweet spot.

After you live with them for a while, PM me or post something down on the GAS Circle (to get my attention), I've got a really easy tweak that can tame some of the harsh treble (baffle diffraction actually) that you get with rock (and other) music. No soldering required, just a pair of scissors and an exacto knife.



Enjoy!
Oh, and welcome to the Audio Circles!

[bunky]

i owned a pair of khartago monos with the plitron transformer upgrade and these little amplifiers are truly wonderful and i bet klaus,s 1.500 system can compete with many four or five thousand dollar systems just add a cd player and your off to the races.

[DeadFish]

Throwing in my $.02, oakleaf.
I'm just a 'user', but heard the $1500 system both at last years RMAF and at Scott F's house and it is incredible sound for the dough, 'specially both broke-in incarnations I witnessed.  
Heard the Epiphonies at Scott's, what, a year and a half ago, and bought mine from Klaus at RMAF.  
STILL no regrets!   They do incredible things for the size and do steady action in my living room.
I know that if I knew *then* what I know now, a lot of my hi-end buying travels would have been a much more direct route through Klaus for less money than I spent figuring out what kind of sound I thought I should be hearing.
Hope that makes sense, but if it don't, I just mean 'Ya done good!'
 
Best regards,
DeadFish

[bunky]

all this candid conversation about the Epiphonys by real folks and not audio reviewers makes me very curious. in fact i am afraid that i must admit that i too am a imaging junky. in fact i just talked to Klaus and ordered a pair of these little speakers and if they are like anything else i have ever bought from klaus i will scratch my head and wonder how is this possible for so little money? now i have to go online and find a pair of stands to prop these babys up with. the type that i can fill with shot or sand.i agree with the previous post. they need a dead inert platform to work thier best. how many hours does it take to make them sound thier best?

[Scott F.]

Hiya bunky,

Well, the pair I have were Klaus' personal pair from his shop (right down to the paint speckles from when he painted his office), so they were already broken in. Speakers don't normally take too long to sound good. A solid 50-100 hours at a decent volume will get them 95% of the way there.

Oh, sorry to tell you this, I wrote the reviews on line (the $1500 system at ETM and the Epiphony review at TNT-Audio). Believe me when I tell you, I'm no different than everybody else here, I'm just a music fan first, and an audiophile second. When it comes to reviewing, on a good day, I can write a coherent sentence. Any of the local guys (like deadfish) will tell you I'm just as big a goof as they are when it comes to gear. There is no mysticism or holier-than-thou attitute that I put off (or at least I don't think I do). I just love music and gear and am lucky enough to write about it. Nothing more.

[bunky]

Scott, actually i almost bought the Epiphonys based on the tnt review but i had other things going on at that time and i put it on the back burner.  these recent posts rekindled my desire to own a pair of these little speakers and my comment was in reference to getting more feedback on them from reviews than from epiphony owners. i liked your review and your comments about liking to listen at high SPL levels. thanks for posting.

[oakleaf]

Hi Scott F.,

So it's your ears I'm trusting?  Well, you're going to get an earful if I happen to not like them!    It was a well-written review.  I'll let you know how accurate it was...

I was just going to get the speakers and have my wife ship me an old Perreaux amp I have and a tube pre I built.  (I've always loved the MOSFET/tube combo.) But after reading reviews, especially the SoundStage one, I decided to get the $1500 system.  If the speakers, as good as they are, are the weak link in the system I will have a good power/pre combo to build on.  I was (am?) a loudspeaker DIYer so this system really sounds appealing! Plus, while I'm away my wife is remodeling our back room and wants only a stereo system only in there.  Kind of a cozy little 10' x 13' reading room.   The Odyssey Khartago + the pre aesthetically looks to be a good fit.

Klaus also talked me into a Njeob Tjeob CD player.  This also seems like a good choice since I like the tube sound and the Tjoeb provides a tube buffer.  This means tube-swapping fun!

Can't wait to get it, can't you tell?

Mick

[Scott F.]

Hi Scott F.,

So it's your ears I'm trusting?  Well, you're going to get an earful if I happen to not like them!    It was a well-written review.  I'll let you know how accurate it was...

Thanks for the kind words about the review. From the feedback I've gotten from other people, it sounds like I hear the same things everybody else does (if that statement makes sense). Hopefully you and I hear the same.

Since it looks like you are putting the system in a a 10x13 room, you may want to plan on some acoustic treatments. If your wife will let you, pick up one of the Room Packs from 8th Nerve. It's nice and afordable, plus it works. Considering the size of the room and depending on your listening position, you may need to suppliment the Room Pack to tame some of the additional peaks you will likely experience.

I completely agree with Klaus on the Ah! It's a great sounding player. If you can swing it be sure to get the AD-825 opamp upgrades. They used to sell for $30, I'm not sure what Kevin is selling them for now but it can't be too much more. They are well worth the few extra bucks. Somewhere over at TNT I did a review of all the Tjoeb tweaks.

As for tube rolling, try the stock Philips that come with the Ah! for a while before you go head-long onto swapping. Some of the 6DJ8 variants can get really expensive, especially some of the highly touted  NOS tubes.

Have fun and be sure to let us know what you think after you get a couple of hundred hours on the system. I really think you are going to fall in love with the sound.

[Sonny]

Hi there, you have any pictures of the system you could share with us?
Thanks would be great!
Thanks

[oakleaf]

Sonny,

Once I receive it and get it hooked up, I will post.  Klaus has to recieve the Ah Tjoeb, set the system up for 220V and ship this overseas to an FPO, so this could take up to 3 weeks to get.

[nickspicks]

at the risk of sounding stupid...what is the "1500$ system" ?

[oakleaf]

nickspicks,

This site has an excellent description/review of the $1500 System:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0705/odysseyaudio.htm

[nickspicks]

interesting...
thanks