EMP EF50 Setup and Listening Tests

Setting up the EMP Tek EF50 speaker system is pretty much a breeze. With the lack of ports, it was much less of a concern where the back walls were. The EF50T towers seemed to need at least a modicum of toe in. With the speakers pointed directly out, the soundstage was quite wide but unfocused. With a few degrees of toe in, the soundstage solidified though was a bit less wide. Personally, it was an easy tradeoff as the soundstage was a plenty wide to begin with.

I'm not a huge fan of corner loading subs and I definitely felt that the E10s didn't need to be corner loaded. Even at over a foot off the side wall, and nearly three from the back, I felt it was plenty bassy enough. Honestly, I calibrated and re-calibrated this sub over and over because I felt it was a little boomy at times. Usually by "boomy" I mean one note. The E10s was anything but one note. It definitely had some range and tightness to it but it often came off as "too loud" (or, too quiet - I couldn't seem to find a real happy medium). This could very well be a room interaction or more likely the high crossover point but I felt is was worth a mention.

The EF50 bookshelves are so small that it is easy to place them nearly anywhere. I had them placed on either side of my couch pointed slightly in front of my listening position. The EF50's definitely can pump some volume and I suggest putting a good 5+ feet between you and them in order to have them blend effectively. I think that wall mounting these a few feet above your seated position would be an excellent idea. The entire system was wired with Blue Jean Cable's Canare 4S11 speaker cable with Impact Acoustic's Sonicwave Subwoofer interconnect and powered by a Denon 2307CI. All listening tests were done with the speaker grill and faceplates on.

As a package, I felt that the EF speaker would work well with any mid-level receiver or higher and probably most entry levels. They aren't too efficient (87dB / 84 dB at 1 watt/meter for the towers/bookshelfs, respectively) so you'll be taxing the internal amps but you won't break anything (in my opinion). I did think that the EF50T's could be made to sing a little sweeter with an external amp and should play nice with just about any amp on the market. Basically, you'll be fine with the equipment you have now (provided you aren't trying to drive them with a clock radio - think modern ~$300 receiver) but have something to add to your Christmas list!

The tower speakers are rated down to 80Hz but the center and surrounds only down to 100Hz. I wanted to test that out subjectively so I hooked them up to my Emotiva RSP-1/RPA-1 combo and played the Rives test tones through them while running them full range. While both sets of speaker definitely had output under their ratings, it was very reduced and I'd suggest that you set your crossover no lower than 80Hz. You are going to lose a little in the surrounds and a bit in the towers but not much. I personally had it set for 100Hz as I felt the lower midrange needed a bit of a boost from the sub. This made the sub a little localizable so you're going to want to test it out to see how much that affects you. Where your sub is located will also play a large roll here. I'd suggest making sure your sub is placed close to your mains and perhaps running two up front. This will help smooth out your bass response as well as help ensure that the subs aren't localizable. See our article on connecting up multiple subs for a more thorough discussion.

Listening Evaluation

I played so much through these speakers that is seems disingenuous to list my reactions under specific albums/movies so I won't. A ton of music, movies, and high definition Cable TV all hit the EF50 speakers over the course of a few weeks and they really never failed to impress. But read on for more.

Two Channel Music
I was definitely interested in seeing how the EF50T's held up to the previously reviewed RBH TK-5CTs (TKs). They both cost about the same but there is where the similarities end. The design, footprint, driver size and configuration, ports… everything is different. I level matched the two and listened to a few albums. While it was clear that the EF50T's were a nice little speaker, the TK’s  just had too much bass for a direct comparison. It was no contest. With the TK's side firing 8" woofer, larger cabinet, and ported design, that's not exactly a surprise.

Instead, I hooked up the sub and let them both have the benefit of the E10s sub. Fair is fair right? While the sub evened things out a bit, I still felt like the EF50T's lost some information around the crossover point (100Hz). There were notes that were just clearer on the TK's. On the high end, the TK's also seemed to have a bit more clarity and extension. There were times that I knew I was supposed to be hearing some notes off the very top end of a piano that were just not there.

This is not to say that the comparison was not favorable. The EF50's sounded very, very, similar to the TK’s. So much so that I'm starting to think that RBH/EMP has a "sound". Now that "sound" might be unaltered audio reproduction but it seems to be something I'm starting to be able to pick out of a crowd. The EF50T's definitely sounded clean and big… much bigger than they should sound for their size. Again, the TK's sounded bigger but, of course, they are.

The real shocker was not that the EF50T's had less bass or a tad less extension on the high end but that the audio band that they were reproducing sounded eerily similar to the TK's. As I mentioned in the TK review, I feel the TKs are the sub $1000 tower speakers to beat so this is high praise. The EF50T's displayed a depth of soundstage that seemed impossible for their size or price. Dynamics were all there and music, at nearly any volume, sounded effortless. At no point in this review did I feel like the EF50T's were straining or had reached their limits. In my experience there are few if any speakers at this price point and with these aesthetics that can touch the musical reproduction of the EF50T's.

Multi-channel Music
Of course, I'm reviewing a full 5.1 system so it seems a little silly to be focusing so much on the towers and sub. My first order of business when reviewing a speaker set is to pop in a few multi-channel DVDs and CDs. I listened to a number of albums including the Blue Man Group: The Complex, Porcupine Tree: In Absentia and Deadwing, and Don Henley: The End of the Innocence. What was clear to me through it all was how well the EF speakers worked together. Pans across the front and back all worked remarkably well without a hint of so much as a crack in the 360 degree soundstage. Dynamics were amazing as was the EF's ability to keep me engaged without becoming overwhelming or fatiguing. One thing I've noticed of other "revealing" speakers is that it doesn't take long for "revealing" to degenerate into "bright". This is often aggravated by the listening room. The EF50's never became fatiguing or bright but still maintained that clarity and extension that you’d want out of a quality speaker.

If there is one strike against the EF50 speaker system, it is the EF50 speakers (the bookshelves) that are used for surrounds. They seem to be almost too good for surrounds. In my testing room, the speakers were only a seat and a half away (about 3-4 feet or so) on stands and were very demanding of my attention. Essentially, as long as I sat dead center on the couch, they sounded right but sitting to one side made that one surround too prominent. I would highly recommend that you place them a bit higher on the wall and farther away (if possible. This should help widen that sweet spot.

You're going to read this again in a moment, but I was very impressed with the E10s sub. I decided to play, at near reference level volume, "Piano Smasher" off the Blue Man Group The Complex album. This is a torture test for subs that seems almost cruel. Fortunately, the E10s was up to the challenge and held together very well. There were moments that sounded a bit mushy but overall the sound was articulate and punchy. Even at low volumes you could feel the bass filling the room. At higher volumes you could feel it filling your stomach. Want to have a good time (for an AV geek that is)? Take the grill off, jack up the volume, and watch that 10 just piston out those low frequencies. Good, clean, geeky fun!

Many, many moons ago I reviewed the SVS SBS-01 system. The E10s sub from EMP is expected to cost about the same as the PB10 sub from SVS (no longer in production). While acoustic memory is about 3 seconds and it's been a bit longer than that, I won't make any hard claims. From memory, it seems like both the subs have something going for them. The SVS definitely hit lower but I couldn't say for certain that it was any louder. The E10s has no problem filling up my smallish size listening room (a feat considering that it is open to other rooms). The E10s might be tighter overall and probably a tad more musical. Regardless, it is about 1/2 the size and for that, I'd say that the performance differences are pretty negligible.

Cable TV
Even though there is a dearth of good programming on TV right now (thanks WGA), I did manage to sit through a few shows. While I don't generally consider HDTV to be very taxing, I was watching an episode of Stargate: Atlantis one night when I really noticed how impressive the E10s can be. Atlantis, like its superior predecessor (both of which are infinitely inferior to Farscape), likes to have a very low rumble throughout any scene that is set on a space ship (and some that aren't I've noticed). The E10s absolutely shook the house with that rumble. I couldn't believe it. A sub that small with a 10" driver shouldn't have that much impact. I could literally feel it in my chest.

Movies
I was sort of on a movie watching kick during the evaluation of these speakers. A few HD DVDs made it in there (Pitch Black, Knocked Up, Lady in the Water, about a third of Disburbia) and plenty of DVDs (Descent, Star Wars Episode 2, Return of the Jedi, Finding Nemo, Murder Party, Severance). Star Wars Episode 2 was played just for the opening sequence to see how the E10s handled the low end. I had already determined that it didn't play much below its rating by using the Rives disc (rated at 29Hz and I got nearly no output at 25Hz), but I wanted to see how it did with really low information. I pumped up the volume and tried to make the sub bottom out. No go. It just rolled off gently. That's the sign of a well manufactured sub.

Many people believe that the center channel is the most important speaker in your system. I believe they are wrong but that is an issue for AV Rant or perhaps some future editorial. Still I would be remiss to leave out the diminutive EF50C. Essentially, an EF50 turned on its side with an extra woofer flanking the tweeter, the EF50C seems to have no problem keeping up with the EF50T's. Honestly, I was surprised. The small size of the unit in comparison to the towers had me worried. But even during the most demanding of passages (dialogue during explosions, multiple people talking at the same time) the EF50C never faltered or let me down. In the past, I've owned and tested centers that just couldn't hold up to the other speakers in the system. Not so this time. The small size practically guarantees that placement will not be an issue. At only 5" high, what could be the problem?