Justin Bentrup

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $330.00 from Music Direct

Summary:
I wanted some bookshelf speakers for a small bedroom system and had a credit with Music Direct. Since I wasn't interested in anything else at the time I bought these. I have owned the Epos Els 3's for about a year and they do many things very well. They have a very clear midrange with good detail and texture on instruments. The Els 3's also image very well. They are of course limited on bass, but what do you expect from a 5 1/4" midrange?

Compared to other speakers I have experience with I do sometimes tire of the sound of these speakers. I find their treble to be grainy and when turned up they become bright. I would recommend these speakers to someone who doesn't prefer to listen too loud and has a bias towards tubed gear. I would guess tubed gear might smooth out some of the perceived grain in the treble. The midrange driver is excellent; Epos would have a full-fledged winner if they would develop a smoother tweeter.

Since the price of these speakers has risen to $400/pr, and assuming someone else wouldn't be bothered by the treble, I still think on the value side of things there are better options. With the midrange driver incapable of bass below 65 Hz these will always sound pretty light-weight even by bookshelf monitor standards which means a small subwoofer, at least, would be desired.

For another $50 the Wharfedale Diamond 9.2's have a much sweeter (not rolled-off) treble; it has more clarity w/o grain or harshness when volume is increased. The bass is superior with maybe just a little less detail in the midrange. But that could be the result of the larger mid/bass driver (6 1/2"). This would alleviate the desire for a small sub, and top-to-bottom be more satisfying in my opinion. The Wharfedale's cherry vinyl and cabinet construction is also superior to that of the Epos.

The Energy RC10 would also be a good consideration which has exceptional treble response and comparable midrange/midbass qualities to the Epos; the drawback is that it is $550/pr, so another $150 leaves your pocket. However, you are paying for really fine quality since you are getting real wood veneers, a more inert cabinet, and a kevlar midrange driver with a stationary phase plug (if the phase plug is attached to the center of the cone it has added mass which slows down the musical response of the driver and can also cause more non-linear cone motion producing distortion). Like the Wharfedale, it also can handle being turned up without compression or harshness.

Once again, this conclusion is based on what you are getting for $400; at $330 the Epos was very good, and you can sometimes find good pricing from someone selling on audiogon or ebay. But if you want smooth treble that remains smooth when you turn up the volume look elsewhere.

Strengths:
Midrange, imaging, texture, detail

Weaknesses:
Bass, grainy treble, harsh at higher volumes, price

Similar Products Used:
Energy RC 10, Wharfedale Diamond 9.2, Infinity, Paradigm, Polk, Boston Acoustics, Definitive Technology, Klipsch, etc.

Price Paid:  $200.00 from ebay

Summary:
These speakers sparkle and are very balanced - I enjoy them very much - I have a lot of speakers and I ussually tire of one pair and then set up another - I havent changed speakers in 3 months! Vocals are great and the speakers really disappear - I have a pair of Infinity IL100s'ssubs to take care of the lower end (set up with RABOS these subs are tight and deep and blend perfectly- A true subwoofer bargain - I've had a couple of other subs - Velo cht12,polk,yamaha,klipsch, Velo FSR-15 and I could never get them to blend with pairs of monitors i've had) - I'm running the speakers off a Apple mac mini with a Behringer dac/jitter reducer, a Arcam a90 integrated with preout to a Musical fidelity Studio T amp.

Strengths:
Very balanced and detail,great soundstage, small, cost

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Other bookshelfs - Paradigm Studio 20v3, Kef Ref 101,Polk monitor 40, B&W dm601,Paradigm monitor 5,Klipsch Heresy,mirage omnisat, JBL, Polk 5jr, Bose am5,

jkroon

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Audio Advisor

Summary:
Excellent value. Neutral, smooth, detailed sound. Not at all bright or harsh sounding unless you really crank the volume to their limits. These speakers LOVE acoustic recordings, but they sound great with all types of music. They project a wide and deep soundstage, image well, and work surprisingly well in a home theater despite their small size. I'm cured of upgrade-itis. I highly recommend these to anyone looking to put together a high quality stereo or surround sound system on a budget for small to medium sized rooms. Pair these with a good powered sub. Also, speaker stands are a must.

Strengths:
Neutral sound. No boomy bass or chuffing. Smooth liquid highs. Almost perfect midrange. Detailed sound, but not bright or harsh. Build quality is very good. A very affordable way to get high end sound.

Weaknesses:
Powered sub required for low bass. These have little to no bass output below 60 Hz.

Similar Products Used:
Polk RT55i (I sold these to buy the ELS3's. I don't miss them)

Paradigm Studio 20 (Also very good speakers. They have a slightly hard edge to the highs though. Better bass extension than the ELS3. Midrange and imaging about the same as the ELS3. Maybe a bit warmer sounding. Better fit and finish, but more expensive than the ELS3.)

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Multifoon

Summary:
If you listen to jazz this is a ideal speaker. The human voices sounds very good as well as piano's. You really get into a song and enjoy the music. The size is very nice and the speakers looks good without the grill.
I allready had a powered subwoofer from Magnat, so the bass is excellent.
Without the subwoofer the bass is light weightet. Also lounge music sounds very good with the beautiful midrange. Buy speakerstands from nexus.

Strengths:
Midrange and highrange, looks small but have a extended sound. Your cd's sounds different.

Weaknesses:
Bass and dynamic, with the subwoofer it's acceptable. Buy good cables.

Similar Products Used:
Infinity RS2000 (1989), they're ugly but sounds dynamic.

Rob H.

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.67 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $275.00

Summary:
These speakers are rather remarkable for the price. I have them set up in my office at work placed on a shelf inches from the wall (non-ideal) and run 8 - 10 hours a day of satellite radio as the source (also modest in source quality). Despite the less than ideal setting these little speakers perform wonderfully. They are clear, easy on the ears, image well (even in my non-ideal set - up) and are non-fatiguing to listen to. I have heard many $500 - $750 speakers and this is the best of the bunch until you hit the $750 range where Vandersteen 1c's and Axiom speakers and others go to the next level. It seems that the next quantum leap in performance is at that $750 price point. So, no the ELS3 cannot hang with the speakers at approaching three times their price. But should they?

At this price point, these are a great, great buy. For under $500 you would be hard pressed to do better — and if you can do better it will be only marginally better such that diminishing returns are still going to favor the ELS3. My point then is this — if you are not willing to go to $750 or more for speakers then I suggest you stop at ca. $300 and get these little British marvels. Great value!

Strengths:
clarity, imaging, non-fatiguing sound. Delineation of instruments in space and the ability to follow individual instruments in an ensemble is competitive with the better $1000 speakers.

Weaknesses:
bass extension --- but at under $300, c'mon what do you expect

Similar Products Used:
Polk, Axiom , Paradigm in this range. Vandersteen 1c's at 3X the price (and better by a reasonable margin --- though not 3X better). Mate with a $400 subwoofer and it likly would best the Vandersteen.