Epicure

Epicure Products, Inc. was an influential American loudspeaker manufacturer founded in 1970 by Winslow Burhoe in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Originally established after Burhoe's distinguished career as Edgar Villchur's lab assistant at Acoustic Research and subsequent work at KLH during their high-quality manufacturing periods, Epicure became renowned for innovative speaker designs that prioritized natural tonality and imaging. The company manufactured speakers under both 'EPI' and 'Epicure' brand names, with Burhoe's signature invention being the inverted-dome tweeter (also called 'airspring' tweeters) and his modular design concept consisting of an 8-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter working together with minimal crossover. Key product lines included the original Epicure 1-5 series, EPI models 1.0-3.0, the Time/Energy series for the 1980s, and the Magnus line featuring 10-12 inch woofers. The Epicure Model 20 utilized innovative dipole positioning to incorporate the listening room's acoustics. Throughout its two-decade independent operation, Epicure speakers were prized by owners and highly regarded by audiophiles for their engineering excellence and American craftsmanship. In the early 1990s, home entertainment giant Harman International acquired the trademark and remaining inventory, eventually integrating operations with JBL in Woodbridge, NY before discontinuing the brand. While Harman produced some inexpensive EPI-labeled speakers briefly, these lacked the original company's design philosophy. Today, vintage Epicure speakers remain highly sought after by collectors and audiophiles who recognize them as classics of American hi-fi engineering, with founder Winslow Burhoe continuing his speaker design work through Direct Acoustics.