News

The final piece of the TGI/Mordaunt-Short/Epos jigsaw puzzle (see previous story) seems to have fallen into place, with the news that Mike Creek (of the UK's Creek Audio) is purchasing the Epos loudspeaker brand, effective March 1.

The saga began last fall, when the TGI Group (Tannoy Goodmans International) announced that it was planning to close its Mordaunt-Short/Epos operation within the next three months. However, between Christmas and the New Year came the announcement that M-S/Epos had been purchased by the Audio Partnership, a British manufacturing/sourcing operation that includes the Cambridge Audio electronics brand, and which has links to the Richer Sounds retail group.

It was obvious that Mordaunt-Short was a much better fit than Epos in the Audio Partnership roster, alongside the similarly budget-oriented Cambridge Audio brand. It was no secret that others were interested in taking on Epos, with its carefully nurtured and more upmarket profile.

Creek and Epos share distributors in several territories, so operating the two brands alongside each other makes obvious sense from a business point of view. To optimise the sonic synergy. Roy Hall of Music Hall (which distributes both Creek and Epos in the US), is a part owner of Creek, but Epos will be wholly owned by Mike Creek, and therefore run as a separate trading company.

In the short term, existing stocks will ensure continuity of supply, while Mike's immediate plans involve creating a replacement for the ES12 "leader" model.

Similar in broad outline to the '12, the replacement will feature a number of changes to satisfy the requirements of some markets. A wooden baffle and back panel will be used in place of the existing mouldings, permitting an optional grille and new terminals. The port will be relocated on the front to aid close-to-wall siting. Recognising the growing importance of Home Theater in some territories, magnetic shielding will be provided, and a center dialog speaker is also under development. Manufacture is likely to move to Eastern Europe to improve price competitiveness.

Tel : 44 (0) 181 361-6734 (temporary). Fax: 44 (0) 181 361-4136. E-mail: epos-acoustics@ibm.net. Web site.