I bought some 50% clearance EMPTek E55TI towers and E55CI center today...

B Run

slammin86 wrote: »

I encourage everyone to at least look at this page of the review.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/floorstanding/emptek-e55ti/e55ti-introduction

This shows the back of the drivers as well as the inside of the cabinet where you can see the thickness and the bracing. It also shows the crossover.

Have any of you guys heard of rbh sound?

I read the whole thing, I think they sound pretty promising and can't wait to hear your impressions.

Monster Jam

Strange - I posted a response to this thread that was never posted. I guess in retrospect I am glad it got lost in the nether of cyberspace. Said something not so nice about someone I wanted to take back.

In any case, Slammin86, my ultimate message in my response was "good luck". Hope its the sound you are looking for.

Syndil

slammin86 wrote: »

Wow I did not expect this to happen. I do not know where to start.

First off I did A LOT of homework on these before just purchasing them...

That much is clear. Don't bother placating the naysayers. And who knows, you might indeed actually hate them once you give them a listen, but clearly you have an exit strategy.

Not sure why everyone else feels the need to get all bristled over these speakers. But, but... they're not Polks!! And they're so much cheaper, they just have to be crap!! Whatever.

Loudspeaker design is not witchcraft, and you don't have to spend a lot to build (or buy) a great set of speakers. Internet Direct (ID) is the way of the future. Saves the manufacturer a crapload of overhead, and saves you a crapload of cash. I would not be surprised if your speakers sounded at least as good or better than your Polks. And if they don't, you can return them or maybe even sell them for a profit. Everyone else just needs to cool their jets and stop prejudging speakers they admit they have never heard, simply because they were ID and inexpensive. No one seems to have a problem when HSU or SVS or Outlaw clearances out their B-stock, so there's no reason to judge these speakers poorly without giving them a fair shake.

heiney9

I think I laid out my thoughts pretty clearly and I wasn't in any way saying; "But, but... they're not Polks!! And they're so much cheaper, they just have to be crap!!"

And yes good loudspeaker design takes more than a bunch of parts and wood. It's not as easy as you make it out to be, certainly not rocket science, but still takes skill and most of all quality parts.

Anxious to hear the OP's feedback, sounds like he did his homework and that's all you can do when you can't hear something first

H9

heiney9

Syndil wrote: »

No one seems to have a problem when HSU or SVS or Outlaw clearances out their B-stock, so there's no reason to judge these speakers poorly without giving them a fair shake.

Because they have established a name for themselves. You are really lumping those in the same category as EMP Tek?

H9

slammin86

heiney9 wrote: »

I think I laid out my thoughts pretty clearly and I wasn't in any way saying; "But, but... they're not Polks!! And they're so much cheaper, they just have to be crap!!"

And yes good loudspeaker design takes more than a bunch of parts and wood. It's not as easy as you make it out to be, certainly not rocket science, but still takes skill and most of all quality parts.

Anxious to hear the OP's feedback, sounds like he did his homework and that's all you can do when you can't hear something first

H9

Did you happen to look at the reviews? What are your thoughts?

tonyb

I did.....frankly some are not very positive. Especially when compared to others, one reviewer had Klipsch smoking them, but like all reviews, you have to take with a grain of salt anyway.

Every speaker deserves to be heard before slapped into a Bose category. Let the OP make up his own mind, thats how we learn, no ?

heiney9

slammin86 wrote: »

Did you happen to look at the reviews? What are your thoughts?

Since you are asking, I read a few over at Audioholics, I am not a fan of Audioholics in general, but the reviews seem positive and negative compared to what I thought at first were white van type speakers. I have heard some of the other speakers Audioholics gave high marks to, and they didn't do anything for me. My Polks sounded better to my ears. I will say over the years Polks are VERY hard to beat at their price point. They do so much right and usually keep right up with more expensive brands. Value to sound, I haven't yet come across another speaker that delivers the way Polk does overall. Have I heard better speakers? You bet, but they cost a whole lot more and frankly, while they were better in some area's, not enough for the extra cost in some cases.

We will all just have to wait and see. Again, I admit I am a skeptic well before I am a believer.

H9

tonyb

heiney9 wrote: »

We will all just have to wait and see. Again, I admit I am a skeptic well before I am a believer.

H9

I take it....your still single ??

Just a bustin' nuts on a Friday pal.

heiney9

Lol, I miss what that has to do with being a skeptic or a believer in audio?

H9

PrazVT

I've seen EMP speakers on the Audioholics store for a few years now (in fact they have a few brands I've never heard - but in the same cost realm). Am interested to get Op's impressions as well.

drumminman

The build quality from the interior pics looks pretty good. They appear to be a good value, with generally positive reviews - interested in your opinion after you've lived with them for a little while.

Don't know if you're into modding but some of the shortcomings described in the reviews would be easy to remedy: thinking crossover mods, reducing cabinet resonance. Also, the MW speaker frames appear to be stamped steel so maybe a little dynamat. They're so inexpensive that if you put a little more money into 'em, you'd still come out ahead.

Thanks for posting!

slammin86

Really if you look at the price of the b stock emp vs the polk m70 I currently have they are pretty close. From a price standpoint they should be a good comparison. Really if you are wanting 400 dollar towers you do not have a lot of options.

The center is pretty pricey comparatively though. But if you look at the big picture I am still under $900.

heiney9

The M line for Polk is really their entry, starting point. But I see where your logic lies. I'm sure if you bumped up to the RTiA line or even used RTi's you'd be much happier with Polk. I recently bought a couple pairs of older RTi bookies (RT25i and RTi38) to revisit. I have to say they sound really, really good for their cost. I had forgetten what a great bargain they were even back then. They certainly aren't perfect, but perfrom a lot better than they ought to for the cost.

H9

VR3

I must admit the very first second I clicked on that website I these were white van speakers...

They seem similar in build to Theater Research and Fluance...

They sure are pretty though, hope they sound good and I am wrong!

Congrats OP and enjoy!

slammin86

Tracking shows that the white van should deliver these today. I cannot wait.

mdaudioguy

slammin86 wrote: »

Tracking shows that the white van should deliver these today. I cannot wait.

If all you're left with is a good sense of humor... you'll still be alright!
Hope this works out for you. Good thing is, either way, you'll learn something.

halo71

slammin86 wrote: »

Tracking shows that the white van should deliver these today. I cannot wait.

Hopefully a brown van will deliver them!

slammin86

halo71 wrote: »

Hopefully a brown van will deliver them!

LOL If that showed up at my house I wouldn't be able to give a review on the speakers.

Fedex website shows that they should deliver today but tracking has not been updated to show that they are in the destination city so IDK if they will arrive today or monday.

slammin86

Tracking now shows they are arriving today. I hope it happens this time.

Monster Jam

Looking forward to your review.

slammin86

Where to start.

Unfortunately all I can do at this time is a direct comparison to the polk 70 series. Before I talk about sound I am going to mention some other things that I noticed.

The finish of these speakers is overall good. I can tell why they are b stock due to some imperfections in the clear but they still look great. No dents, dings, or chips.

The brackets that attach to the bottom and hold the spiked feet are a nice touch. When you attach the spikes make sure you have 2 pair of pliers handy. I used pliers and needle nose. With the spikes in place these are much more stable than the polks.

The knock test makes these seem like a quality cabinet. They are a thud compared the the polks hollow ring. Overall they just seem solid.

With the grills off comparing the appearance and the drivers it is a no questions asked win for the emp tek. The wife loves the appearance also.

The grills sit flush with the front cover and the quality is good. The have a wooden frame and stay attached well.

My only complaint is the binding posts. My GLS banana plugs and these did not get along and I ended up putting them in the hole that the speaker wire would go in and tightening them down. The pics do not show this because at the time I was swapping back and forth from the polk to these.

Now for some eye candy.



















Now the initial plan was to keep the center boxed up incase I was not happy with the towers. Then I could send the center back and get a full refund. I had planned to keep the center tucked away unopened for a few days until I was sure I liked the emp over the polk. Well...a picture is worth a thousand words.











Ok, onto the audio. I have about 1.5 hours of moderate listening. I was able to really crank things up for about 5 minutes with the emp teks. I had no desire to do that with the polks because I already know the result.

Everything so far is 2 channel audio with no sub. I set the bass and treble back to 0 and disabled the audyssey for the most equal comparison I could do. These are being powered off of my acurus a3x200 which is fed from my onkyo 709

For tonight I listened to some avenged sevenfold, hurt, evanescence, and acoustic five finger death punch.

The polks have a bright in your face sound. Some vocals tend to go ssss ssss ssss at the end. I hope you can appreciate where I am coming from with that. The thing I do not like about the polks is no matter how much I jack with the EQ I cannot listen to these for any period of time without ear fatigue. Some voices tend to sound nasely IMO.

The emp tek's have a much different sound. They are more mellow and laid back. Not in your face at all. You can crank the volume as much as you want with no sound of brightness or ear fatigue. Everything sounds much more natural. One thing I really noticed was the accuracy of the bass drum compared to the polks. There is a firm attack and it is gone whereas the polks have more of a boomy lingering sound.

When I listened to a song at a volume of -30 on the polks, then switched to the emp teks and listened at the same level the overall volume and sound from the speakers was the same. Keep in mind the polks are 8 ohm and the emp teks are 6 ohm so my amp would be putting out a bit more power at the same volume.

For now that is all I am going to say. Once these speakers get some more play time and hours on them I will add some more. For now the clear winner for me is emp tek.

slammin86

And some not so good cell phone pictures. The speakers were wrapped in a fabric back to protect the finish. Then they had a plastic bag over the cloth bag. They had foam pieces with a cutout to accept the speaker fit to the inside of the box also to hold the speakers in place. The packaging job was very nice.

chumlie

Congrats on your new speakers, they look great. And from your brief discription sound great to. Keep us posted after you get used to them. Looks like you got a good deal on some nice speakers. Real happy for you. Enjoy !!!

audiocr381ve

Really glad that this looks like a win for you! Only time will tell if they stay or go. Gotta give em' a few weeks.

halo71

Congrats on getting them! They do look very nice!

slammin86

The strange thing about this whole deal was I had my wife sitting next to me for a few songs. We would listen to a song then I would switch the speakers back to the polks and listen to another song. Without telling her what I thought I asked her what she thought. Initially she did not know what speakers were what but she quickly caught on.

Her thoughts.

Polks bright and in your face. Unpleasant with volume. Highs sounded precise but somewhat overbearing. Somewhat bassey and kind of muddy.

Emp Tek smooth and laid back. Amy Lee's voice sounded much much better on the Emp Tek. Bass seemed tighter and precise.

Basically after the first song her blind unbiased test was done. She listened to a few more and now knew what to listen for to know what speaker was what.

She loves the looks of the new speakers and wanted to know when I will get the polks out of here. Right now the polks are on the local craigslist and I have 3 people interested. If they do not sell I am going to keep them in the living room until at least this weekend so I can do some more switching and comparing.

Other than the center channel working and seeming much louder than the polk I have not had any time with it to really give feedback.

ravaneli

Man, when I read your critique of the monitors I found some similarities with my A7s. Should have never read it, now it's gona bother me.

Not the bassy part, the lows come out super crisp and tight, and pack quite a punch even with my cheap pioneer (if boosted slightly through EQ). But the highs do become unpleasant as I turn up the volume. Too sharp to the ear. The thing is, this sharpness is kind of pleasant on low to mid volume, because it creates a feeling of clarity and fidelity, as you can hear super fine detail even at low volume.

Do me a favor, let me know if the polks sound clearer on low volume. this brightness actually creates more contrast and detail is easier detected on low volume in my opinion..

EndersShadow

ravaneli wrote: »

Man, when I read your critique of the monitors I found some similarities with my A7s. Should have never read it, now it's gona bother me.

Not the bassy part, the lows come out super crisp and tight, and pack quite a punch even with my cheap pioneer (if boosted slightly through EQ). But the highs do become unpleasant as I turn up the volume. Too sharp to the ear. The thing is, this sharpness is kind of pleasant on low to mid volume, because it creates a feeling of clarity and fidelity, as you can hear super fine detail even at low volume.

Do me a favor, let me know if the polks sound clearer on low volume. this brightness actually creates more contrast and detail is easier detected on low volume in my opinion..

What gear do you have in the mix? Sometimes swapping out some cables can help alleviate what your describing....... provided your a believer in the fact that cables can in fact make a sonic difference

sda2mike

thanks for the detailed review...glad you like em!....