A captivating experience named Epicon 2

I admit it frankly, we were most eagerly awaiting this listening check. For rarely does a loudspeaker hit the scene with a technology that no one else has had before. We opened the session with the classic »Private Investigations« by the Dire Straits. The deep electronic sound pad augurs well, filling the space between the speakers with full, sonorous punch. With eyes closed, one might indeed assume a full-grown floorstander In this dimension. Knopfler’s guitar sounds precise and nimble. Although heard already hundreds of times, new acoustic details are now revealed. The famous shattering glass gives a realistic impression without a trace of exaggeration.

What irritates at first is the might low-end which the Epicon 2 are hogging the listeners with, for it just doesn’t seem to match with the small cabinet size. So we try to bust the cabinet with »Let Jah Love Come (Sweet Substance Remix)« by Rhythm & Sound. No chance, the Dali remains solid – as opposed to the letterbox in the listening room which is cheerfully rattling in time with the music and must be forcibly silenced using wood pulp. The Epicon stays totally unimpressed, communicating even the lowest transients with clarity and precision. With such clarity and precision like we’ve hardly ever heard from a compact two-way speaker before.

Yet one shouldn’t fall prey to this fascination and devote oneself intensely to the field of voice reproduction for a change. For this reason Rebecca Pidgeon is invited to perform her »The Twa Corbies«. With a good deal of air both singers are intonating this song, the piece accompanied by the tiniest of articulation details and subtle breathing noises which, however, do not settle in the foreground. Appreciatively we notice that the spatial depth is also beyond average. The accompanying cello sounds utterly realistic, which otherwise happens extremely rarely when it sounds more like an electrically manipulated violin.

The final listening test with »Mozart: Ridente La Calma«, sung by Cecilia Bartoli, is brilliantly mastered by the Epicon as well. The diva is standing right across from our listening zone by the grand piano, accompanied with utmost perfection by András Schiff on the keyboard instrument. Now, the greatest possible compliment for a sound transducer is that it does not destroy musical emotions. With its slightly restrained character the Dali proves to be worthy of the high art, and its claim for the reference throne is unanimously approved by the editorial staff.