"Audio Jewel" – Active Field Monitor Epic 5
Studio Magazine - Germany
May 2019
by Fritz Fey
May 2019
by Fritz Fey
We are dealing here with a transparent listening tool in the best understood sense: neutral on the frequency plane with linear depths, discoloration-free mids and lofty heights, precise on the time plane, with fast transients and deep impulses, transparent spatiality and a stereo stage with clearly demarcated positions. The whole thing is packed in an exotic design with great feel and high-quality workmanship. The unit price of € 799,- including value added tax is exceptionally competitive, considering that you are dealing with a series product that bears the characteristics of a special development.
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The unpacking of test equipment has for me, even after all the decades of monthly routine still something of Christmas or birthday surprise – in this test in particular, because in the suitcase in expectant carbon optics, after opening two very compact speakers with exceptional geometry and optics along with accessories, could just as well have been a microscope or a rare Sextant hidden. The high-quality, precision-engineered filigree exterior of the speakers excites me directly and also makes the listener's expectations soar. But before that, a few steps are needed to get the Epic 5 up and running.
To do this, use directly from the case and carefully screw three metal spikes onto the bottom of the case so that the passive membrane arranged on the underside of the case is protected and at the same time gets the correct distance to the standing surface. To protect the footprint, you can put attached rubber feet over the spikes, which gives the speaker additional secure stand. But slowly and in turn, we are not that far yet...
Behind the newly emerging reProducer Audio Labs is a certain Attila Czirjak, who may have run into some of the scene's connoisseurs as owner and developer of United Minorities, for example as the originator of the very compact Ginko full-range speakers with matching subwoofer, Seismo or other special developments in the professional audio field in the speaker, microphone or electronics discipline. The reason for establishing a second brand alongside United Minorities is a clear distinction between special developments and series production. The reProducer products are developed in Germany by Attila Czirjak, but completely made in China. Czirjak himself was in China for a long time to define strict quality control criteria to ensure a level of quality that could meet their own needs. All components, housings, amplifiers, switches, analogue adaption filters, the loudspeaker chassis and the passive diaphragm, yes, even the spikes are completely self-developed with the ambitious goal of having to make no compromises in a series product. Original quote Attila Czirjak: "The Epic 5 is probably the worst-margin near-field monitor in the world".
Behind the newly emerging reProducer Audio Labs is a certain Attila Czirjak, who may have run into some of the scene's connoisseurs as owner and developer of United Minorities, for example as the originator of the very compact Ginko full-range speakers with matching subwoofer, Seismo or other special developments in the professional audio field in the speaker, microphone or electronics discipline. The reason for establishing a second brand alongside United Minorities is a clear distinction between special developments and series production. The reProducer products are developed in Germany by Attila Czirjak, but completely made in China. Czirjak himself was in China for a long time to define strict quality control criteria to ensure a level of quality that could meet their own needs. All components, housings, amplifiers, switches, analogue adaption filters, the loudspeaker chassis and the passive diaphragm, yes, even the spikes are completely self-developed with the ambitious goal of having to make no compromises in a series product. Original quote Attila Czirjak: "The Epic 5 is probably the worst-margin near-field monitor in the world".