White/Blue Burhoe speakers - anyone have them or have exp? Interested for classical

mswer

mswer

Needs some space to think
So, my older sister listens to classical music almost exclusively. I'm also bad at buying her presents because I never know what to get. I really like the EPI speakers I have, and I know Winslow Burhoe eventually started Burhoe Acoustics, which made only a handful of speaker models.

I'm curious about the White and Blue Burhoe speakers because both specifically mention classical music reproduction as one of their main goals (see the Burhoe links for each speaker above). There was a pair of Burhoe Greens on my local CL a few months back that I passed on, and it's the only Burhoe speakers I've ever seen for sale.

I'm looking to put together a good classical music rig for her that won't be so huge and/or overwhelming that she'll hopefully actually want to set it up and listen to it.

So, has anyone heard either of those speakers? Are they indeed good for classical music? Other impressions? If you have, what were they powered by? Etc.

Thanks for your thoughts!
 
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Burhoe speakers don't turn up often.

I've felt the older EPI 100s do it just fine. Same for Boston Acoustics A70s and a/d/s/ L570s.

All perfectly sized speakers for what you want to acheive here. Not too big or overwhelming, not at all lacking, except in the real low end, something it sounds like won't be missed here.

If you can find the Burhoes, great, but don't be phased at all if you can't- and consider the others mentioned.

Also, I found my small tower DCM CX-27s to be phenominal, and the smaller CX-17s to be a bit tighter, if not as powerful.

Nice slim looks, narrow footprint, and truly impressive. Same drivers as the earlier TimeFrame series.
 
Thanks for your thoughts deli. I figured there would be other good options out there, those Burhoes are just what got me thinking. Any idea why there aren't more around? I believe the EPIs were good sellers, so I would might have expected there to be plenty or Burhoe speakers around as well.
 
I had a set of Burhoe Blues that I rebuilt into something pretty nice. I had to use some Marantz 10" woofers in them but the original inverted dome mids/ tweets were exceptional. They do make an exceptional blues and jazz speaker IMHO.
If you get a chance do try to aquire them, they are pretty rare and well worth the sound investment, especially when recapped and refoamed!!
Enclosed are pic of the ones I rebuilt, these are now mirror imaged with verticle alighment of the mid & tweeters. Check the "Human" sight for more information into this line of great speakers-
DC
 
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mswer said:
Thanks for your thoughts deli. I figured there would be other good options out there, those Burhoes are just what got me thinking. Any idea why there aren't more around? I believe the EPIs were good sellers, so I would might have expected there to be plenty or Burhoe speakers around as well.
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The EPI 100s were a Consumer Reports best-buy so Winslow sold a zillion of them.

Winslow's later company, I imagine, were a bit more expensive and boutique? The EPIs were built to be competitive at a price point, and affordable.

Nonetheless, I can almost assure you 100% that for the casual, and even the appreciative listener, looking for a moderate sized speaker (of course, big by today's standard) that the EPI 100s, AR4xs, Boston Acoustics A70s, Dynaco A25s, and a/d/s/ L570s, as well as others, will do excellent.

In order- my favorites

Cannot rate the Dynaco A25s- haven't fixed mine yet.

a/d/s/ L570s- best balance, cohesiveness.

BA A70s- close to the a/d/s/, but a bit more bass.

EPI 100s- Ever so slight midrange suckout on some material, but great imaging, pleasant overall sound, delightful tweeter, and very great bass for the size.

AR4x- amazing bass, the top end wasn't to my liking (but is to many, many folk).
 
Burhoe designed a number of innovative speakers. He had a "module" in mind that consisted of a woofer that rolled off mechanically at about ~1.8 KHz. The inverted dome tweeter worked down to that point (or close) so they complimented each other very well. Since the design does not have a complex crossover, just a simple coupling cap to the tweet, there are no phase shift problems to speak of that have to be countered :)

It made his speakers very musical in a neutral sort of away. He used the same "module" all the way up to the EPI 500's (extremely rare) by multiplying the number of modules in use, the cabinet volumes, interior dampening, passive bass radiators, etc. They all pretty much worked very well.

FiddleFye is a member here who is a professional concert violinist and he uses EPI's (with a few teaks - PM him for details) as his music room monitors - nuff said :)

Now you do have choices - there was the upscale version with the real wood cabinets and the up-up scale version called Epicure (where the EPI's have model numbers like 100, 150, etc. - Epicures have model numbers like 10, 15, etc.). All these are very nice speakers and some look pretty stunning with inlaid brass accents and such :)

Then there are the more modern versions like the Burhoe Green, Blue, Red. Crimson, etc. All very desirable speakers and worth restoring. Problem is they are a "new" design with different drivers and are I believe ported to extend the bass response (and compliment the replacement drivers in use). This may have come about as the supply of the original woofers in his "module" became scarce and not reliable.

Lastly, he has a current company called Silent Speakers - a design that is supposed to be placed up against the wall (easier to furnish around) and are said to "disappear" sonically in that they image well but do not draw your attention to their physical location. Again, the rumors are that he can't get drivers made to his specifications so getting a pair is hit or miss :(

For the sister, I'd measure the space she has and look for any of the afore mentioned products that will comfortably fit. The bigger the model number and the bigger the space, the better the bass response. Otherwise they are all very pleasing :)
 
There are a lot of good choices out there, so many, in fact, that I would guess size (and what amp your sister uses) would be crucial to making the choice. I heard a pair of the little Burhoe Crimsons years ago, and was pretty much astonished at how big a sound they produced (granted, they were on the floor, which boosts the bass), so I imagine that the bigger ones might be very nice. I think that the larger tweeter helps with that midrange dryness that sometimes is noticeable with the regular EPI tweeter. But so are many of the ones mentioned above.
If you are over a barrell, PM me -- I'm about an hour away and could help, but only if you can't find anything at tag sales or Craigslist or whatever -- a huge part of the fun of old equipment is the hunt.
 
Great information and thoughts everyone. Currently she has no amp or receiver that I know of, and I believe she mostly listens to music on her iPod and/or computer speakers :tears:. I'm going to be seeing her at Christmas time, so I think one of the major determining factors will be how big her apartment is, as I have not yet seen it. Once I see what the space looks like and what the furniture layout etc., is like, I'll be better able to make a determination.

Last gift I got her was a headphone upgrade from iPod earbuds; I'm slowly trying to get her better stuff to listen to music on. Granted, this is partially because I have no idea what else to get her and this is something I know about, but it's also because it bums me out to know everything she's missing out on - it can't be forced though, of course, so I have to get her into it as well. :thmbsp:

2Duals, I'm sure that that would be a great--if not the best--option, but it's a bit out of my budget, especially considering that if I follow through with this it will be something of a gamble, that is, I'm not certain if/how much she will use it. Getting bad gear would be self-defeating, but a good system can be put together for less than $400.
 
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