Human Speakers

I wonder how a pair of ol' Henry Kloss's Cambridge Audio Model Sixes would compare? At one point, those were going for $129/pr maybe 5 years or so ago, though they may have changed something from the days when Henry was with the company. It was tempting to try an "old fashioned" 8" 2-way, however. I imagine they still had a money back deal.

 

I had EPI model 70's for quite a while. Bought new. Loved those things. Yours sure look the part.

 

I wouldn't mind hearing the model 81+. Intriguing is the fact that these are acoustic suspension designs with no crossover (just a cap on the tweeter).

I had a pair of Epos ES-14's that had just a tweeter cap. They were very lively speakers.

One turnoff for me is these speakers don't come in mirror image pairs. I wonder if that impacts soundstaging?

 

My first "good" speakers were the Epicure 10's. It's great to see the EPI100/Epicure10 legacy going on.

 

Way OT, but somewhat relieved to read this observation in that review - I thought it was just me or my system.

"I've always had a problem with Bill Evans's Village Vanguard sessions: his piano is in the right channel, and the bass and drums are in the left channel. It's really a dual-mono recording with nothing going on in the middle. "

 

Well, you put me to work. I took the grills off of both. They are mirror image pairs. As they sit right now, both tweeters are to the inside. If I reversed them both tweeters would be on the outside. I'll assume it doesn't matter as the speakers were unlabeled (I think),

...Which leads to the question, which way should they be? I never thought about checking!

 

I've always heard that the tweeters should be on the outside but I guess only listening will decide it for you.

 

Using a pair of EPI Time/Energy 70/2 for my computer speakers. Still sound great

 

Sorry I meant to say inside not outside!

 

I was about 5 minutes from reversing them! Hey, I got something right the first time...I'll go get the instructions and see if this is mentioned.

 

The "correct" way yields better perceived high frequency response at the listening position.

 

Ah, those do look so back-in-the-day, they remind me of some speakers I built for a friend. I'm curious-are they ported? I didn't see mention not picture on the website. And is the dome inverted? It looks like it, but sometimes appearances in pictures deceive.

Yes, I don't favor super old speakers either, I think crossover design in particular has advanced tremendously since way back when. And I agree 8" is a good size if the tweeter can handle it. 10" is just really big for any normal tweeter to cross over to.

 

No on the ports.

I found this on his website which goes into great detail about the drivers:

Do It Yourself: Driver information

 

Very interesting. I can picture how a smaller coil on an inverted dome could drive it better. I'd be curious to see off-axis response plots as well. Could be interesting stuff to build an undertuned ported tower.

 

Love my EPI 180 speakers. Would love to hear any of the Human speakers.

 

EPI Model 100 Series 3's were my mains for almost 25 years, 'til I got the JBL's. I won't get rid of them, though. I believe the Humans are a take on the EPI 100. They should be great. Not the last word on anything, but, really super, super nice used properly.

 

I view the Human 81's as a updated version of the EPI 100's. I took my Goodwill found 100's and changed out the binding posts and capacitor. Needed a refoam when I bought them also. Great speaker for what they are. I have a pair of 110's which I haven't touched yet, as well as a pair of 400's which I had to refoam eight woofers!!

I use a pair of "Silent Speakers" as the fronts for my theater; no sub woofer required. Amazing bass for such a small speaker. Yeah, I guess I like Winslow's stuff.

 

Sweet find. So the EPI 100 has been modernized, as has the Dynaco A25 via madisound. Someone needs to bring the KLH Model 6 back while maintaining the vintage aesthetic. That was a fun speaker.

 

They're called planters, and she just hadda do something to "pretty up" those ugly things.

 

Well, if you watch all of those antique shows on TV, they say character adds value and makes an antique an antique. If my wife puts flower pots on my speakers that's grounds for divorce. I can just picture that overflowing water running down behind the grill over the tweeter then to the woofer. That's just sad. I think I'm going to cry?

 

I'd also worry about the effect of any concentrated moisture on the materials and structural integrity of the cabinets. Wood can swell with moisture, putting pressure on joints, opening seams, etc.

 

A friend of mine was throwing out a pair of EPI 100v's. He knew I was into this stuff so he offered to give them to me. The cabinets were in great condition but the woofers needed a re-foam and one of the tweeters looked funny. I decided to just buy new woofers from Human. Hooked them up and noticed that indeed one of the tweeters was not working as well as the other so again went to Human to order tweeters and a new capacitor. The speakers sound fantastic. Better than the EPI 70's I grew up listening to.

 

Those are great looking speakers and seem to be a true Made in the USA bargain. Enjoy!

 

I have a few EPIs... This COVID virus had me looking for a new activity so I have been rebuilding vintage EPI, Advents, and AR Speakers. Hope to have a set of KLH Model Seventeens soon. There are some really nice speakers from those manufacturers.

My current EPI "Stable" includes an original set of EPI M150W that I bought new around 1974. Recently rebuilt those using new 8" drivers from Huw and new Dayton Audio 400V 1% caps. Back in 1974, I remember auditioning the EPI M100s and decided to spend the extra $$$ for the M150s as the bigger cabinet improved the bass performance... they sounded "smoother" to me.

I now have three each EPI M180V and four EPI M50W. I also have one EPI M100W that I nicknamed the "test mule". It was a disassembled basket case with a damaged MDF cabinet when I got it. I think it cost me $20 and was an Estate Cleanout find. The Test Mule was originally procured to be used to experiment with cabinet finish products. I have since added an 8" Human Speaker driver and original masonite tweeter. The EPI M180sV have all been reformed and are having their Crossovers restored with new caps, keeping the original Tweeter Mode switch, and the modified original backplates.

The EPI M50Ws are something else... They are OK by themselves, but with the EPI 100/150/180 they enhance the harmony... soundscape... presence... They make magic when stacked with any other EPIs
They are really quite amazing and I am hoping to configure an all EPI Surround Sound room to play my SACDs on a Denon 7.2 system I have.

Back to Human Speakers...
I am extremely curious to hear how the Model 81s would stack up against the EPI 100s. The Model 81 should sound extremely close to a EPI 100 IF you swapped out both the tweeter and driver for Huw's EPI100 replacement products. I suspect the cabinet has a modified construction structure with "special" internal braces. Huw was very helpful in this regard with my EPI M150 restoration. I experimented with internal bracing and it does help the overall cavity tonal recovery. Hopefully you someone will have a chance to compare the Model 81 with a good Restored EPI 100 and post their impressions.

 

I just learned about the older Genesis Physics Model III and followed the trail which led me to the www.humanspeakers.com site. Looks like all the reviews I've read are positive, but mostly around the model 81. I'm wondering if anyone's bought a Human Model 81+?