EPI 100 (1970–1980)

The EPI 100 is better documented than many models in this archive, but what survives leans heavily on one early review and on EPI's own advertising. The basic spec sheet - driver sizes, crossover points, cabinet dimensions - has not turned up in the sources examined here.

The earliest solid record is a test in HiFI-Stereo (May 1970, p.45). It judged the 100's tone-burst response at 150, 7,000, and 12,000 Hz to be typical of a fine system. Like most acoustic-suspension designs of the period, the 100 was relatively inefficient, though not excessively so. Epicure recommended an amplifier with at least 18 watts per channel of continuous power.

By the mid-1970s, EPI's own advertising in Audio (June 1976, p.47) was touting that the 100 had once again received top ratings from a leading independent consumer-testing magazine, which named it the best speaker for the price in its February issue. The "Linear Sound" campaign was built around this model. The pitch was pure, uncolored, natural sound, with no artificial bass boost and treble nuance that most speakers lost. A later ad in HI-Fi-Stereo-Buyers (January 1980, p.9) claimed over half a million EPI 100s sold and priced the speaker at around $110. It also credited the one-inch air-spring tweeter with near-hemispherical dispersion: sharp, clear highs, deep lows, and even coverage throughout the room.

That gives the 100 a documented presence from 1970 through 1980, a long run for any speaker. The engineering details are still unrecorded here. Original brochures, service documents, or owner measurements would be welcome additions.