| | Ah, the Fall '92 quarter. Despite the grunge revolution, Peter Gabriel's Us found a niche within alternative rock. 20 years ago, in November '92, my friend and classmate Kim was among the first to buy Us. And on what format did she have it? CD! After class, she'd come over to my on-campus apartment, and pop Us into my Sony CDP-520ESII. So when it comes to songs like "Digging In The Dirt [PG's song about counseling]," "Kiss That Frog [an ode to blow jobs]," and "Steam [a follow-up in the vein of "Sledgehammer"]," I think of Kim and that magical Fall '92 quarter.
Kim was the one who told me to use the "misty spray" setting on the shower head. She instructed me to let it run, and steam up the bathroom. In a way, the video for "Steam" heightened my image of Kim's steamy bathroom.
As Kim and I listened to, among others, Us, I could stare past the parking lot, and see the forest. For whatever reason, when it came to speakers, the forest behind the Crown-Merrill apartments made me think of and lust for the Epos ES11. Maybe it was 'cuz I read about the ES11, while surrounded by trees. Maybe it was 'cuz I auditioned the ES11 in Oakland/Berkeley, where the store was surrounded by some trees. Maybe the ES11's open-frame stand reminded me of rings of redwoods. At home, I had the $350 Paradigm 5SE. In the college apartment, I had the $199 Pinnacle PN-5+. At $850, the Epos ES11 was more than the 5SE and PN-5+ combined. Hell, it was more than my Adcom GTP-400 and GFA-535 put together. Still, in bookshelf speakers under $1000, it was the ES11 I wanted.
While the Epos ES11 was just out of reach, if I were to be in fantasyland, I knew I'd get the Totem Model 1 [in '92, Totem were still years away from their Signature version]. The Model 1 measured a puny 6.5" wide x 12.2" tall x 9" deep.
Well, it is now 2012, and the audiophiles and I have finally moved past the Model 1. We now are onto the Element Ember. As the Ember is irregularly-shaped, it isn't a rectangle. So it measures kind of kinkily. Like Kim's skinny butt, the Element Ember tapers to the rear, and is only 6.25" wide there. If your speaker stand's top plate reaches to the Element Ember's rear edge, that top plate should not be wider than 6.25". The rear panel is sloped. If you measure straight up, the rear is 12.9" tall.
The Element Ember's top is sloped like the roofs at UCSC's Crown College dorms and apartments. At the base, the Element Ember is actually 9.5" deep. Because the actual side panel is the hypotenuse, it is longer than 9.5". But make sure your speaker stand's top plate is no longer than 9.5".
The Element Ember's front panel is the most conventional, and is the only rectangle other than the rear panel. Unlike the rear panel, the front panel is not sloped. The front panel's base measures 7.4" wide. The front panel's height is the tallest dimension, and is 14.2" tall.
In the early '90s, audiophiles and reviewers called the Epos ES11 "dinky." But at 8"x14.75"x10", the ES11 is larger than the 7.4"x14.2"x9.5" (and these are the max dimensions) Totem Element Ember!
|
| | Posted 11/23/2012 12:41 AM - 57 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
Give eProps or Post a Comment |
