Epos M16 loudspeakers

 

The Epos M16  floorstanding systems

The latest in the Epos range of real-wood floor standing speakers, the M16 is all about accuracy, dynamics and poise. It will perform well in 2 channel or home theater systems.

The Epos M16 is new a floor-standing, rear-ported, two and a half way speaker finished in a polished real-wood veneer. It is supplied with a custom wooden plinth which can be used with four 6mm carpet spikes, which can be adjusted to make the cabinet tilt backwards, if required.

Two and half way means that the bass and mid-bass drivers are run in parallel at some frequencies. The bass driver is filtered with an inductor to limit its upper frequency response to about 150Hz. Below that the two drivers work as one to reinforce the power and dynamics of this relatively small speaker. This design has the mid-bass and bass drivers running in separate,

sealed chambers.

The Tweeter

Tweeter is similar to that used in all the M series products. It uses a 25mm diameter 50 micro thick aluminium dome with ferro-fluid cooling and neodymium magnet system. This improves power handling and because all Epos tweeters are designed to produce a low distortion output down to 500Hz, it creates a very wide and open sound stage in the mid-range.

 

The Midrange

The M16′s 130mm (5 1/2′′) midrange driver is an all new device, which has been evolved from the M5′s design. It features an alloy chassis for strength and a moulded polypropylene cone for fast and accurate signal handling. It has a solid phase plug and a powerful, magnetically shielded, motor system to allow it to handle high powered signals.

 

The Bass

The 130mm (5 1/2′′) bass driver is similar to the midrange but has lower impedance and also uses a dust cap to cover the voice coil former and not a phase plug. With its ventilated voice coil, it is capable handling extremely high power. It is recommended that it be partnered with an amplifier that is capable of driving a 4 Ohm load to high power levels.

 

The M16 has been evolved from the design of the M5, which means that it does have a multi-element crossover filter for the middle and high frequencies, which is positioned in the top chamber nearest to the drivers. It also has a single inductor for the bass, together with a conjugate circuit to flatten the response in the upper bass region where the mid-bass and bass driver sum their output, to remove the effect of chestiness which can be undesirable especially when listening to male

voices. The bass crossover filter is located in the bottom chamber to avoid magnetic interference with the middle and high frequency filter.

 

Connection to the M16 is tri-wirable through three pairs of metal binding posts, situated at the bottom of the cabinet to help keep speaker cabling more tidy. The internal wiring uses solid core DNM wire.

The rear port has been constructed from machined MDF trumpet shape, which has been sprayed to cosmetically match the finish of the cabinet. The tube length is adjusted to produce deep bass output down to 40 Hz. At the inside end of the port tube, another machined MDF wooden trumpet shape helps to avoid wind turbulence from interfering with the overall performance of the speaker. This turbulence can be a common problem in ported designs.

 

The M16 is perfect as a high performance 2 channel floor-standing monitor. However, it has also been engineered with home theatre application in mind. Its design improves imaging and enhances the pace, rhythm and timing characteristics that have long been the hallmark of Epos speaker systems.

If used as the front left and right speakers in a home theatre application, the choice of either M12.2 or M5 speakers for the rear together with the M8 centre channel and new M subwoofer guarantees a cinema speaker package of the highest order.

 

Specifications:

Power Handling:  150 Watts Max

Frequency Response:  48 Hz – 20 kHz

Impedance:  4 Ohms Nominal

Sensitivity:  88dB/1 watt/1 metre

Amplifier Compatibility:  25 – 150 Watt

Configuration:  2 1/2 Way

Dimensions (W x H x D):  174 x 875 x 210 mm

Weight:  15kg

Finish Type:  Real Wood Veneer

Finishes:  Light Cherry, Dark Cherry, Black Ash