Ever since the BBC LS3/5a, small sized speakers haven’t ceased to tempt me with their charms. To this day, my interest stays the same, every time it comes to exploring a small speaker’s potential, regardless of price range.

The Epos ELS 8 in particular may be even more interesting, as this British “little one” comes so challengingly priced that its evaluation can easily allow for two generic interpretations, no matter how high you set the bar; it is either a definitive catch, if sounding good, or a cost-justifiable compromise, should it rank below average.

The ELS 8 is a small speaker that carries all genes deriving from the British school (even though made in China). It’s a two-way, two-driver bass-reflex design with an internal volume of under 10 lt. The review sample had a black oak finish (there’s also a brighter light maple option) that accounts for particularly smart looks. But even before meeting the eye, this speaker radiates positive predisposition, due to its very well-cared for packaging. Inside the box lie -besides the speakers- two separately padded protective grilles as well as a set of gold-plated banana plugs, in case you wish to terminate your speaker cable. The latter inclusion demonstrates that the manufacturer won’t go cheap, no matter how low the retail product cost.
 

Article was published on: 2010-07-02

In Depth >>

The ELS 8 enclosure is made of 18 mm thick MDF, internally reinforced by an octoidal frame and two transversal bracings.

The mid-bass driver is equipped with a 5,5 inch polypropylene cone, a pressed-steel basket and a bold-sized magnet, which is also shielded – more of an obsolete concept at the era of panel monitors.

The tweeter features a 25 mm magnesium alloy dome and a neodymium magnet. This is a driver newly designed by Epos to be a more natural-sounding solution compared to its predecessor, which has been employed in the Company’s previous entry-level speaker series.

The crossover network -second order for both drivers- is implemented on a PCB that is mounted behind the binding posts. The polypropylene cap in the tweeter section is considered to be a positive touch, whereas the ferrite-core coils utilized in both crossover sections may raise an objection, most likely to be overruled by the product’s price tag.

The bass-reflex port is found at the back side of the enclosure, rendering distance from the rear wall a critical factor in the quest for achieving optimal bass performance within a given listening room.
 

Lab evaluative report

Around 700 Hz the ELS 8’s response exhibits some fluctuations, whose width and allocation is related to the speaker’s distance from the rear wall. Beyond this point the curve stays particularly flat up to 1,8 kHz, where a steep and wide 4,5 dB peak occurs. From there up it continues flat to the higher frequency extreme.

Harmonic distortion is kept low, given the price, the 2nd order harmonic being most predominant, especially in the critical mid/low region. Measured sensitivity averages at 85,5 dB/1 W/1 m, whilst the two speakers exhibit a very well-matched behavior with only less than 0,7 dB aberrations.

As far as horizontal dispersion is concerned, the response curve remains almost unaltered at +15 degrees and only predictably fluctuates at +30 degrees. In the vertical plane however, the response curves at +15 and -15 degrees show that the Epos ELS 8s are solely meant to meet balance with their tweeter at ear level height – even minor off-axis deviations result in significant alterations within the mid-high spectrum region.

The CSD plot shows a satisfactorily quick behavior. Colorations throughout the mid-highs are acceptable for this price range.
Impedance is at all times kept above 5,2 Ω and is typical for an uncompensated 2-way network. That fact along with the phase-shift curve makes it a trouble-free specimen for feeble amplification.

The reflex-port is tuned at 56 Hz, but the fact that its output level at 1 kHz overlaps with (even surpasses) that of the actual driver can be a problem. The 2nd order harmonic (2 kHz) created by this resonance is only 10 dB below the driver’s response, it therefore is also involved in the resulting sonic signature.

In all, a perfectly decent measurement set, that could also belong to a costlier contender.
 

Mesurements:

Frequency response and harmonic distortion (yellow is 2nd order, grey is 3rd order)

Frequency response on-axis and at +15 & +30 degrees off-axis (horizontal plane)

 
Frequency response on-axis and at +15 & -15 degrees off-axis (vertical plane)

Near-field frequency response: LF driver and bass-reflex port
 

CSD Plot

Impedance / phase curve

Article was published on: 2010-07-02

Listening >>

Connected to my own setup, that has grown so familiar through the years, the ELS 8s required no less than 50 hours of running-in before unfolding their individuality. Before thoroughly proceeding to my listening impressions, I have to stress out that, during their break-in and while playing for hours in the background, these speakers conveyed a personality who can by no means point towards cheap, quite the opposite… Their sound was coherent rather than… shouting for attention on a particular performance aspect.  Thus, by the time of critical listening, I’d already presume that this is a well-designed speaker, whose performance is detached from its price-range.

To begin with, low frequencies are adequately present and energetic down to 50 Hz. Optimal bass performance, in terms of integration and coherence, was achieved at a distance of 30 cm from the rear wall, in my listening room that is. Tracks featuring dense low-frequency content [19a, 18a, 16a, 4a] adequately preserve their infrastructure, while the speakers have to be pushed quite hard for the woofers to show discomfort, as they approach their Xmax. The area around 100 Hz is where they sound most dynamic, in terms of attack sharpness and drive [6b, 8a, 14b].

Continuity on to the midrange qualifies as fluent, although at times instruments seem to compromise a bit of their expected rigor around 500 Hz. At this point, it should be mentioned that the speakers’ response up to just below 500 Hz is heavily dependent on their placement (as is the case with lower frequencies), you may therefore need to experiment with several distances from the rear wall in order to achieve the best presence/integration ratio in your room.
The midrange is neutral and satisfactorily coloration-free. Ranking just a click below the mid-lows in vividness, the mids enjoy a decent gamut of available timbral nuances, which nevertheless restricts itself slightly as vocals reach higher octaves.

At any rate, female [5b, 6a, 1ab] and male [10a, 11a, 12a] voices are equally treated, in a manner that just won’t denote how much these speakers cost. Singers are positioned at the same level as the orchestra’s front plane and not more forward than that, but they enjoy more than decent articulation and body – the latter being most evident on female vocals. If a weak spot had to be recorded on these speakers’ performance, this would be referring to a certain feeling of constriction in the upper midrange, which can often steal a bit of the vocalists’ rigorous energy. To compensate, their overall performance escapes the funnel-sound trap, resulting in a tire-free, relaxed presentation, which gives the impression that the whole setup is undergoing no stress whatsoever. If you happen to like experimenting, it would be worth placing a 0,5 cm thick cylindrically-shaped foam material (such as ricofon) in each reflex-port, wide enough to cover about half of the port’s length. This way, you trade a perfectly reasonable, in my opinion,  portion of bass-loudness for a more solid-projected midrange.

Heading towards the upper-frequencies, the ELS 8s sound clear and coherent, in a way that renders their dotal asset of effortlessness easily appreciable. That said, they won’t go aggressive or harsh in the highs, even if some of the ancillary equipment has the tendency to do so [2, 9, 11, 13].
As for stereo-imaging, Epos’ small monitors perform the familiar act of disappearing from the listening room. They simply vanish once you close your eyes, to project a soundstage that easily extends above and beyond them, even so in recordings that are known to feature a less broad dimensionality. At the same time, all musicians’ positions are well-defined, which also allows for the relative space between them to be successfully portrayed.
In larger orchestral and choral groups, individual members can be adequately spotted, but less so in tutti passages where a tendency for smearing occurs [6, 7, 9, 13, 15, 16].

For their overall sonic ID field, the ELS8s have chosen the mild-spirited path, as they are far from eager to impress by being sharp at the frequency extremes or by apposing tons of polished detail. What they do is portray a cohesively structured ensemble, whilst remaining relaxed and forgiving at all times. This attribute even stays valid under particularly aggressive software of the most up-front nature [14a & b, 12a, 3b], as the ELS8s stick to their own smooth temper, but also manage to avoid homogenizing everything.

In addition, they can start reaching satisfying volume levels with only a few tube-watts. Qualifying as an easy load, they can be accommodated by anemic amplification without posing a torture-stress threat, despite the fact that they are not very efficient.

In terms of matching, the small Eposes won’t be embarrassed by a setup comprised of say 1.000+ euro ancillaries plus they directly respond to any change of equipment. Should you opt for a bit more punch and gutsiness, you should combine them with more “forward” gear that emphasizes on the spectrum areas less favored by the speakers; however, if you prefer a smooth, fatigue-proof presentation, then a bloomless, flat setup that’s more on the neutral side should do.
 

Article was published on: 2010-07-02

Conclusion >>

Wearing a much less than 250 euro price tag, the ELS 8s are thoroughbred hi-fi speakers that can be had for nothing, whilst suffering from no significant vulnerabilities; this sentence would still be accurate were they to cost three times as much. Their own character is clearly modest, by choice, in order to command a vast repertoire (excluding deep bass-dominated programme), without imposing any fatigue. Well, count me “for” this choice, as I find it unrealistic for a speaker of this budget to come out as “fascinating”, without having to severely compromise many performance aspects to marginally favor others. In a word, the ELS 8s mark the golden ratio at a price that seems like a typo.
 

Vangelis Markoulis

vm@abouthifi.com

Article was published on: 2010-07-02