EMP E5Ti Impression Series Speakers - Unbelievable Value

Just for a point of further clarity and full disclosure...

The finish on the Impressions 'appears' to be burl wood with a high gloss finish. But I'm not certain this is the case, nor have verification (hopefully coming soon) from those in touch with EMP. (I saw them in a non-brightly lit home theater room.) Looking at the various pieces, the veneer is so similar as it could possibly be a lacquered laminate of some kind. I just don't know. It's definitely not your average vinyl covering that you see on many speakers.

No matter what it is, these speakers are still lovely and are a steal at their current introductory pricing.

Rbh Tk-5ct Vs Emp Ef 30t

sheedoe said:

I bought the RBH TK-5CT speakers based on Tom's review and absolutely love them. I wonder how they would compare to these EMP speakers.

Click to expand...

The RBH TK-5CT and EMP EF 30T is suppose to be virtually identical but the 8 inch driver in the TK-5CT is described as a subwoofer while the other is described as a woofer ( the cone material is also different). Does it mean that the woofer in the TK-5CT sounds better than the EF 30T. I saw the TK-5CT advertised at Independentaudio for $799.00 each while Audioholics has the cousin EMP EF 30T for $855.00 per pair. Is it that they are trying to get them off the ground. Anyone who owns the EF 30T, please let me know how they sound and how deep is the bass. I am trying to decide between the EF 30T and the TST2 or TST3

I would say the RBH TK-5CT's and the EMP EF-30T's are identical performers. They both have plenty of bass extension.

The RBH TK series was discontinued in June 2008. Around that same time the Audioholics Store was selling tons of the EMP EF-30 series speakers in a special 5.1 package deal that I believe was about $900. They sold so many of the EMP sets that RBH TK-5's were substituted by the RBH factory to keep up with sales. I believe they completely sold out of every TK-5 they had in the warehouse. And EMP also sells their products direct from their on-line store. They were pushing the same deals that the AH Store was. I think the deals were originally to get the EMP line off the ground.

The reason I know is that's how I picked up my set of TK-5's.

I'd be wary of anybody selling RBH TK-5's now. At least everything EMP you buy from the AH Store will be drop shipped directly from the RBH warehouse in Utah. It'll also come with a full warranty. Same thing for anything you buy directly from EMP's site.

You might want to read the warning from RBH's site.
Independent Audio Video is NOT an authorized dealer.
http://www.rbhsound.com/unauthorized_dealers.shtml

Here's EMP's site in case you want to look at their products. Note the mailing address is the same as RBH's home office.
http://www.emptek.com/index.php

Checking them out

majorloser said:

I would say the RBH TK-5CT's and the EMP EF-I'd be wary of anybody selling RBH TK-5's now. At least everything EMP you buy from the AH Store will be drop shipped directly from the RBH warehouse in Utah. It'll also come with a full warranty. Same thing for anything you buy directly from EMP's site.

You might want to read the warning from RBH's site.
Independent Audio Video is NOT an authorized dealer.
http://www.rbhsound.com/unauthorized_dealers.shtml

Here's EMP's site in case you want to look at their products. Note the mailing address is the same as RBH's home office.
http://www.emptek.com/index.php

Click to expand...

I agree that by all means you should be careful of unauthorized dealers, for example; RBH restricts on line sales of the RBH brand, that's an easy indicator of an unauthorized reseller but they can be checked out with RBH, who will in turn ask their distributor to confirm the reseller.

I work with a distributor who sells to a wide range of local businesses such as theatre designers, new home builders and installers. We are an authorized distributor and so all of our clients are able to sell them with full warranty support, which we provide locally as a liaison between the reseller and RBH.

We too only have a few pairs of TK5CT's left but they are still around for any of our clients to sell. My point is simply that you just need to have RBH look down the channel for you. There are actually a lot of people with access to RBH but they usually don't have retail storefronts. You can check your local home builders/renovators, home theatre installers, distributed audio installers, even alarm/security companies etc. RBH could also just pass your name on to a local distributor who will have a reseller contact you.

Too true

gene said:

Also don't confuse RBH with EMP. The EMP on-walls were not RBH clones. They were completely different designs. The new EMP products are also completely different than anything in the current RBH lineup.

Click to expand...

I agree, as noted they are a completely different build. I do like the look of the Impression Series, a driver with a real phase plug at that price is intriguing too. I look forward to your full test results and listening review.

I agree, as noted they are a completely different build. I do like the look of the Impression Series, a driver with a real phase plug at that price is intriguing too. I look forward to your full test results and listening review.

Click to expand...

A very good point. Most speakers at this price and even higher use fake phase plugs for cosmetic reasons where the phase plug is nothing more than a fancy looking dust cap and actually does more harm than good.

Is a full review coming anytime soon on these speakers?

Is the red burl really RED, or is it more of a reddish brown? The photos look pretty brown to me. I am borderline ready to order, but I can't decide on color. The red burl looks beautiful and natural to me, but the black would really go with anything.

Opinions?

copperfox said:

Is the red burl really RED, or is it more of a reddish brown? The photos look pretty brown to me. I am borderline ready to order, but I can't decide on color. The red burl looks beautiful and natural to me, but the black would really go with anything.

Opinions?

Click to expand...

I'd go with the red burl just so it will stand out. Then when people ask how much they set you back, you can watch their jaws hit the floor with the answer. Sounds like lots of fun.

Unfortunately I don't know any audioholics. Even if I told them the sale price, they'd be astounded I spent so much on speakers.

copperfox said:

Unfortunately I don't know any audioholics. Even if I told them the sale price, they'd be astounded I spent so much on speakers.

Click to expand...

...and when they do, tell them to go home an listen to their crappy plastic cubes they probably spent the same amount on. Or just get new friends.

...Jokes aside though. I can relate to what you are saying. When I bought my first real speakers, I had people tell me I wasted my money. I even had someone say, "Wow, you spent that much money!?!?!??! That's a fortune!!!!!!" This same person spends the same amount on a new computer every few years, and has 5 HDTV's in his house, all of them just using the built in speakers or some crappy cubes. So who's really wasting money. The sad thing is that you don't have to spend a whole lot more to get some decent sound. You can say it over and over again, but some people still won't get it. I might as well be talking to the wall.

To clear up any confusion:

Height: 35.5"

Construction: 1/2" MDF, front baffles are double layered, so 1" thick

Freq. Response of the towers: 40Hz - 20kHz

all info taken from the manual http://www.emptek.com/images/IMPSeriesManual.pdf

Edit: *GASP* I Just ordered them in red burl. I can't wait!

Ordered my 3-set (1 tower as center) of speakers today. Cannot wait to hook them up!!!

Oh, I want to do it so bad! But I can't help but feel like the Aperion Intimus 5T is a better speaker. It is still barely in my price range. Obviously, the introductory offer of the EMP is very compelling. But I want to get the best sounding speaker in my price range.

Hmmmm....

gpzbc said:

Oh, I want to do it so bad! But I can't help but feel like the Aperion Intimus 5T is a better speaker. It is still barely in my price range. Obviously, the introductory offer of the EMP is very compelling. But I want to get the best sounding speaker in my price range.

Hmmmm....

Click to expand...

Then order them both and send back the loser. That's the only way you're going to know.

I can't wait to hear others opinions on these speakers. I'm not a very good writer for doing reviews. But I'm quite sure you're going to fall in love with them as soon as you open the box.

Make sure you don't lose the spikes that are taped to the top packing material in the boxes. You'll need them even if you're on hard floor. They have round ball ends so they shouldn't scratch the flooring. But you might want to put some small hard rubber pads under then after you get them in their final place.

One concern---Weight

I was interested in the bookshelf units and a center....the bookshelf unit is 10lbs and the 5-C center is 19 inches long and 11 lbs....I realize boat anchors are heavy and produce poor sound, but really.....these must have a very small magnetic structure... decent empty speaker enclosures weigh that much or more.....

copperfox said:

Is the red burl really RED, or is it more of a reddish brown? The photos look pretty brown to me. I am borderline ready to order, but I can't decide on color. The red burl looks beautiful and natural to me, but the black would really go with anything.

Opinions?

Click to expand...

It is pretty dark red. Sort of a brownish burgundy. It looks really good, and the grain is more subtle looking than in the marking shots.

Its either real lacquered burl wood veneer or the best laminate I've seen in my life.

I just got mine a few hours ago. Other than the Impression towers and center, my setup is pretty mediocre. Powering them with an Onkyo TX-SR504. The rears are Insignia bookshelfs, and I'm crossing over at 80hz to a Polk PSW10.

It sounds really damn good. That is all.

nrp said:

It is pretty dark red. Sort of a brownish burgundy. It looks really good, and the grain is more subtle looking than in the marking shots.

Its either real lacquered burl wood veneer or the best laminate I've seen in my life.

I just got mine a few hours ago. Other than the Impression towers and center, my setup is pretty mediocre. Powering them with an Onkyo TX-SR504. The rears are Insignia bookshelfs, and I'm crossing over at 80hz to a Polk PSW10.

It sounds really damn good. That is all.

Click to expand...

I'd love to hear more about the sound!