EMP E55ti Speaker Update

[gene]

I've been receiving numerous PM's since we conducted our 2010 Floorstanding Speaker Face Off about the status of the EMP E55ti updates.

The driver updates for the EMP E55ti have been done and I am reviewing a pair right now. EMP also made a few other minor updates to the crossover to smooth out midrange response and increase tweeter power handling by adding more ferrofluid cooling. They redesigned the grille so it has 5 horizontal supports instead of 2 which makes it more rigid and easier to place on/off the speaker.

I spent yesterday afternoon at my friends house comparing the old vs new E55s side by side and level matched. The difference in bass output and extension is subtle at best. I was actually expecting a more dramatic difference. EMP told me they didn't want to re-tune the speakers since they felt most people would be using a powered sub anyways and there are design tradeoffs in doing so which I can certainly appreciate, especially at this price.

The new E55s have slightly more bass volume in the upper 40-50Hz but the old E55s were a bit tighter. Neither will shake a room like a Klipsch tower of similar price but instead they are very tonally neutral and have a very nice expansive soundstage. They also have very good midbass punch and play down low enough to seamlessly blend with a sub which I will discuss in the review.

The great thing is they play incredibly loud without strain so once you mate them with a sub, you've got a high dynamic fullrange system with excellent overall value and sound IMO. Stay tuned...

 

[Matt34]

Gene,

How stable are they with the new outriggers? I'm leaning towards a 5.1 EMP setup but can't have wobbly towers with a 2 year old running around.

 

[gene]

Matt;

The stock outriggers and spikes are pretty good. I don't think you will have any issues at all unless your kid deliberately try's to knock them down with a bodyslam .

 

[GranteedEV]

I got mine about 3 weeks ago, is there any indicator of which "generation" I got?

Are you sure these speakers are all that tonally neutral? I've been listening to them for a while now and in an untreated room they almost feel laid back... and that's with audessy flat adding high frequency response... is it just the music i've been listening to? Or is it because i've had the grille on for more of the time? Or could it be my receiver (SR6003)? Or maybe I'm just really used to brighter speakers?

Either way, one thing I can say is that the red burl on these is gorgeous... they sure don't look like 800 dollar speakers

One question I do have is how far from the wall you found works best. I've got them about 18" from the wall and would entertain shifting them around a bit, but not too obessively because i went and got the super sharp carpet spikes in and it's really tough to even slide them.

EDIT - well, my grilles only have 2 horizontal supports, so i'm going to guess I've got the 1st generation. I wish I had waited a few more weeks, but it's okay. Just hearing the differences are only subtle keeps me from buyer's remorse.

On music listening, the first thing I noticed about these speakers is the 3D soundstage... My 15yo cousin sat down and heard a Johnny Cash track on these and she would not believe me when I said the surrounds weren't even wired up yet.

So when I did set up the surrounds, I couldn't help but feel that 5.0 sound is somewhat pointless compared to quality 2.0 sound... we were watching pineapple express on these and no one besides myself really even noticed the fact that the sound of the crickets chirping was coming from the surrounds.. they all thought it was just part of the e55ti's soundstage and totally ignored it while i'm like "come on... someone point out that I finally wired up two of the surrounds!!". Maybe I just need a better movie soundtrack to use as an example.. something that won't make the e55ti's soundstage steal the glory!

On that note, is it just me, or the e5Ci center has a different timbre from the e55tis? I haven't done enough careful movie watching yet to really test things out (on account of, I don't have a sub yet (got a 2500w pro amp, got an 18" maelstrom-x... now i just need to make a huge ported cabinet and tune it to 14hz), and the surround backs aren't wired up yet either). Most of my listening with the EMP impression series has been limited to 2 ch music.

 

[gene]

I got mine about 3 weeks ago, is there any indicator of which "generation" I got?

Are you sure these speakers are all that tonally neutral? I've been listening to them for a while now and in an untreated room they almost feel laid back... and that's with audessy flat adding high frequency response... is it just the music i've been listening to? Or is it because i've had the grille on for more of the time? Or could it be my receiver (SR6003)? Or maybe I'm just really used to brighter speakers?

I meant that they don't emphasize bass or treble so yes I agree with you that they are a bit laid back in the top end. You should definitely listen without the grille for highest fidelity.

On that note, is it just me, or the e5Ci center has a different timbre from the e55tis? I haven't done enough careful movie watching yet to really test things out (on account of, I don't have a sub yet (got a 2500w pro amp, got an 18" maelstrom-x... now i just need to make a huge ported cabinet and tune it to 14hz), and the surround backs aren't wired up yet either). Most of my listening with the EMP impression series has been limited to 2 ch music.

that is quite possible since its a horizontally mounted MTM vs vertical from the towers. Try adjusting positioning so that the speaker is angled up a bit towards the listening area if its below the screen or angled down if its above the screen. Ideally you would place the center vertically, but that's not practical for most installations since it will block your screen.

 

[Fowl]

Gene,

I am really looking forward to your full review on the E55Ti's. I cannot commment on how they sound becase I have not received my set as yet.

I appreciate the comments from GranteedEV as it is good to get some detailed feedback from other members regarding the 55Ti.