[KeithR]

Clayton- what exactly are the comments on extended break-in?

I may not be the only one here that is leery of such claims---particularly considering an open baffle design with an outboard crossover.   

[doak]

Clayton- what exactly are the comments on extended break-in?

I may not be the only one here that is leery of such claims---particularly considering an open baffle design with an outboard crossover.   

I can offer my first hand experience on this subject.
I took delivery of my CS2 in early January.  I played them several hours a day over a two week period and thought they were "broken in."
However the sound continued to improve over an extended period of time - months it seems.

Several years ago I did own another pair of speakers with similar "Pro" type drivers (Galante Audio Bedminster) and experienced an extended break-in on those also.  However, I swear the Galante's needed to be "warmed/limbered up" for about 20 min. EVERY time I played them.  I have NOT found this to be the case with the EP CS2.

Furthermore, as an avid audiophile for over 30 years now I've owned and been exposed to a myriad of fine equipment. I've personally owned some of the best speakers from Infinity, Martin-Logan, Magnepan, etc, etc, and still I marvel at what Clayton has accomplished with the CS2.  It is a REALLY good speaker.  The absence of "box" colorations, huge open soundstage, nice extension on both ends, good dynamics all make for a very satisfying listening experience.  Speaker choice is a very personal thing, so said YMMV.

 At this point I am interested in listening to more music and letting go of much of the trappings of "audiophiledom."  The CS2 have served well in this regard. Nothing really fancy or high $$ is needed for them to make music.

Doak

[kehut]

Clayton- what exactly are the comments on extended break-in?

I may not be the only one here that is leery of such claims---particularly considering an open baffle design with an outboard crossover.   

I can offer my first hand experience on this subject.
I took delivery of my CS2 in early January.  I played them several hours a day over a two week period and thought they were "broken in."
However the sound continued to improve over an extended period of time - months it seems.

Several years ago I did own another pair of speakers with similar "Pro" type drivers (Galante Audio Bedminster) and experienced an extended break-in on those also.  However, I swear the Galante's needed to be "warmed/limbered up" for about 20 min. EVERY time I played them.  I have NOT found this to be the case with the EP CS2.

Furthermore, as an avid audiophile for over 30 years now I've owned and been exposed to a myriad of fine equipment. I've personally owned some of the best speakers from Infinity, Martin-Logan, Magnepan, etc, etc, and still I marvel at what Clayton has accomplished with the CS2.  It is a REALLY good speaker.  The absence of "box" colorations, huge open soundstage, nice extension on both ends, good dynamics all make for a very satisfying listening experience.  Speaker choice is a very personal thing, so said YMMV.

 At this point I am interested in listening to more music and letting go of much of the trappings of "audiophiledom."  The CS2 have served well in this regard. Nothing really fancy or high $$ is needed for them to make music.

Doak

Doak-

I couldn't agree more! I too have had many of the expensive Audiophile approved speakers over the years..Logans,Maggies, B&W, even Quads....These make music sound real and alive!

[kehut]

Hi Everyone,

Now that we have over 100 pairs of CS2s in the field worldwide, we have a pretty good handle on why some users may have sold their speakers:

1. Setup Issues: Obviously, a biamped system configuration is more complex and creates opportunities for issues related to wiring, amplifier level mismatches and crossover setups that are not optimum. We have found 3 common areas of installation mistakes-
  a. Amp levels- If the power amps used have different gain structures, the DSP channel levels must be adjusted to match them up. If the levels are only slightly different, the listener may assume a difficiency in the speaker system. Using amps with identical channels eliminates any gain concerns.
  b. Speaker location- We sometimes find that users placed the CS2 equidistant from the front wall and side wall. This placement location will create a resonant, boomy sound. We recommend placing the CS2 closer to the side wall than the front wall and follow the user manual regarding placement location. When listeners complain of ill-defined bass, placement needs to be reviewed.
  c. System Gain- Sometimes, the system may incorporate a passive preamp or other approach that has either insufficient gain or too much gain. Either condition can adversely affect the sound.

2. Break-in Time: The CS2 requires an unusually long break-in period to sound its best. Owners are still calling in reports of significant improvements even at 1000 hrs and over. The nature of the sound changes in ways that one would not expect based on experience with traditional speakers. While many have been impressed with the CS2s sound cold out the box, they soon realize that an evolutionary process is underway, where the speaker begins to dramatically improve over time. It is quite interesting to watch this happen and is very rewarding to experience. We know that some owners simply haven't given the CS2 time to break-in sufficiently and may explain the large disparity in comments from: "the best I've ever heard"-to "good for the money".

It is, of course, normal and natural that some owners would sell their CS2s. No speaker or other audio product is ideal for everyone, or meets the expectations they had set beforehand. Fortunately, the number of owners who chose to sell theirs represents a small percentage of total units sold, since many of those sold are from customers upgrading to the CS1 Reference model coming out this month. Additionally, a number of pairs sold were from retail dealers who had demo units on hand when we moved all our North American distribution to Underwood Hifi this spring.

Happy Listening,
Clayton Shaw
Emerald Physics

Clayton-

Im in the "best Iv'e ever heard camp"..just for the record!

Seriously, Your points are well taken and should be heeded for proper integration and set up..giving the best sound possible, as my own experience bears out as well. I have found that break-in time racks up quickly..Its a joy to listen as the hours log on and fly by IMO!

What is the latest on the new dcx? Is it looking like an upgrade to the Behr... or new unit at this point?

-Ken

[jimdgoulding]

And what, pray tell, does anyone have to add, pro or con, worth anything at all who doesn't have any practical experience with these? 

[jkelly]

My experience has been that if you are using different amplifiers the tendancy
is too run the woofers too loud which creates the mud and lack of detail. 
If you back them off you will hear tremendous detail and imaging from the horns
which brings the magic.

BTW, B&C DE250's drivers are a really nice upgrade!

[zybar]

My experience has been that if you are using different amplifiers the tendancy
is too run the woofers too loud which creates the mud and lack of detail. 
If you back them off you will hear tremendous detail and imaging from the horns
which brings the magic.

BTW, B&C DE250's drivers are a really nice upgrade!

Are you saying you used the B&C DE250 drivers with the CS2's?

Is this a supported option from Emerald Physics or something you tried on your own?

George

[jkelly]

Tried on my own.

[Russell Dawkins]

this should help these:  http://tinyurl.com/6lbx53 sell!

[iGrant]

My favourite speakers at the RMAF 2008 show. You instantly know you are hearing something special.

Ian