Loudspeakers

With the arrival of the ES-28N, loudspeaker designer Karl-Heinz Fink has reached a key point in his career. Positioned above the previously launched – and lauded – ES-14N [HFN Jul ’23] and ES-7N [HFN Nov ’24], this three-way floorstander, priced £7500, marks the conclusion of Fink’s campaign to revive stalwart British brand Epos. Perhaps other ranges will follow, but for the moment this speaker is touted as ‘number three out of three’.

Fink has stated his intention not to cash in on the craze for ‘nostalgia’ products that resurrect past designs, however much they were appreciated back in the day. Instead, using engineering know-how honed by designing speakers for numerous companies over the past decades, his Epos creations are thoroughly modern – but also remain true to the spirit of the brand founded by Robin Marshall in 1983. So, while Fink’s first Epos model was inspired by the ES-14, a 1980s hi-fi icon, the following ES-7N was an all-new design. This is also the case for the ES-28N.

Pipe down

Although it stands only 1.05m tall, the Epos floorstander is reasonably wide (25cm) and deep (36cm). But at least it isn’t your usual boring rectangle claiming floor space. Four adjustable radiused metal feet give the speaker the appearance of floating above the ground and, crucially, ensure the down-firing port in its base is not impeded by a thick carpet. It’s a neat visual trick, which together with the slanted cabinet and faceted baffle (the former aiding time alignment, the latter helping to limit treble diffraction), makes for a novel, almost furniture-like look. Incidentally, that wide and long (8x30cm) down-firing port is pressure-compensated with internal vents to prevent pipe modes.

As well as being pleasing to the eye, the ES-28N is a well-crafted loudspeaker, solidly assembled with good workmanship on show. The integration of the front baffle with the walnut side and top panels of our review pair, for example, is very nicely done, with no gaps to be seen. Some, however, might find the many visible screws around the drivers a bit of a throwback – many modern rivals hide this hardware away. The speakers arrive with their full-length grilles attached, but as with the ES-7N and ES-14N the guidance is to remove them when playing music [see PM's Lab Report].

Bonding exercise

This floorstander weighs in at 35kg, which isn’t much compared to some loudspeakers featured in [HFN] but is respectable enough for a model in this class. The partitioned enclosure continues Fink’s ambition to ensure the Epos cabinets are as inert as possible – the ES-28N is constructed from panels that sandwich a high-damping glue between two MDF boards. Two of these are bonded and topped by a further MDF panel to form the ‘duo-layer’ front baffle, its thickness reaching 50mm. The cabinet is also internally braced, with the tweeter and midrange drivers each benefitting from their own chamber. Unusually, the midrange chamber features an angled rear partition to prevent standing waves.

Alongside the walnut finish, Epos offers more modern-looking semi-matte white and black colourways for the ES-28N. Want something with a bit more flair? As with the ES-14N (petrol blue) and ES-7N (bright orange), there is a unique colour available, although this speaker’s Jade Green option – pictured on this month’s cover – is arguably a little more restrained.

While designer Karl-Heinz Fink traditionally favours two-way loudspeakers, in this case he’s opted for a three-way configuration, with both 180mm reflex-loaded bass drivers patrolling the same sub-330Hz frequency range [see boxout]. These mica-loaded polypropylene units are adapted from the bass/mid driver of Epos’s ES-14N, carrying over the basket and neodymium magnet, but the cone profile is now flattened for improved rigidity and pistonic behaviour, and the voice coil and surround upgraded. Similarly, the 130mm midrange unit is evolved from the ES-7N. It’s only the 28mm ceramic-coated aluminium alloy tweeter, crossing over at 2.7kHz, that remains unchanged. This is a feature of all three Epos speakers, as is the ES-28N’s single set of 4mm sockets that accept banana plugs but not spade or wire.

Deep impact
I’ve enjoyed the voicing of Fink-designed loudspeakers, as they typically boast a relatively even tonal colour while allowing the music to escape and ‘float free’. There’s rarely a sense that the cabinet is joining in, which heightens this feeling of clarity and, especially, cohesion. With the ES-28N these qualities are present, as they are with the earlier Epos models, but with significant extra ‘oomph’ delivered here by the two dedicated low-frequency drivers.

But this is not bass extension that overpowers everything else. Paired with a Denon PMA-3000NE amplifier [HFN Mar ’24] and Eversolo DMP-A8 streamer [HFN May ’24], and playing George Gershwin’s ‘An American In Paris’, performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra/Louis Langrée on the Transatlantic set [Fanfare Cincinnati FC-016; 96kHz/24-bit], the ES-28N delivered drums with a satisfying slam and depth. The tuba towards the end of this 18-minute piece also sounded brilliantly full-bodied. Yet these elements were just part of a well-balanced overall performance that tracked Gershwin’s composition as it veered between subtle and up-beat.

Maybe some would prefer the brass to have a bit more definition or bite, but I felt the tuning of the ES-28N let me really savour the exuberant nature of the orchestral experience. Rich in dynamics, rhythmically secure and convincingly well integrated, Epos’s flagship speaker consistently ticked the right boxes, including the one marked ‘fun factor’. As the flutes and horns sprang from the soundstage, these floorstanders brought a smile to my face.

Veni, vidi, vici

The ES-28N’s slightly ‘dense’ portrayal meant they didn’t necessarily create a huge sonic space with every track I auditioned. But that is not a deficiency per se; by not attempting to stimulate your brain with sounds pushed out to the fringes of the soundstage, the speakers create a more intense, direct relationship with the music while still producing a respectable sense of depth and width.

With The National’s tremendous Rome live album [4AD 4AD0801; 96kHz/24-bit], the ES-28Ns placed me relatively close to the stage, letting me connect with the repetitive lyrics of ‘Eucalyptus’, a break-up song that starts off sanely but descends into desperation – a break from Matt Berninger’s usual monotone delivery.

Turning up the volume on the Denon amplifier was rewarding too, the speakers not losing their grip over dynamics as the sound levels increased. The very stirring rendition of ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’ was a particular highlight as it demonstrated the sense of envelopment these new Epos floorstanders can deliver. This song is one of the Cincinnati band’s setlist regulars, which explains why the audience at the Parco Della Musica venue in Rome crooned along with so much enthusiasm. Listening from a distance of around 2.3m, and with the ES-28Ns toed-in slightly, the joyful and occasionally in-tune singing convincingly surrounded me on all sides.

Brooming lovely

Time and again, the ES-28Ns showed and created a strong connection with the music – even with mediocre source material that might sound unremarkable on more ‘audiophile’-tuned speakers. Case in point, the Dry – Demos album from PJ Harvey [Island Records 00602508782473], spinning on a Technics SL-1200GR2 [HFN Sep ’24] with Audio-Technica VM750SH cartridge, presents early demo recordings which are extremely basic. Sometimes it’s no more than an acoustic guitar and Harvey’s voice, seemingly recorded in nothing more plush than a broom cupboard, but the performance of the ES-28Ns kept me engaged.

The intimacy of tracks such as ‘Oh My Lover’ and ‘Plants And Rags’ was deftly recreated, and the rich distorted guitar tones on ‘Joe’ and ‘O Stella’ were easily conveyed by the speakers’ strong midrange performance. The ease with which Epos’s flagship speakers portrayed Harvey’s sparse rock songs, while being just as adept at delivering the blast that is Gershwin’s ‘An American In Paris’, pays testament to their refined versatility.

Hi-Fi News Verdict

If you liked what Karl-Heinz Fink did with his first Epos speaker, then you’ll love the range-topping ES-28N. These superbly crafted floorstanders showcase Fink’s talent for delivering detail and dynamics without straying from a balanced presentation, making for a thrilling performance that’s writ large by this three-way design with its dual bass drivers. These are an excellent choice for genre-hopping music lovers.

Sound Quality: 88%