InnerSound Eros Floorstanding Speakers

InnerSound Eros Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

Electrostatic midrange/tweeter. 10" Transmission Line woofer system. 400 watt bass amplifier included with system. Balanced crossover input / outputs. Pure dipole radiator. Separate chassis for amplifier and electronic crossovers.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-6 of 6  
[Sep 18, 2005]
pjohn
AudioPhile

Strength:

mid, high and lows are so good that it exceeds all my expectations.

Weakness:

None

I had a B&W602 s2, this was my first pair of entry level audio. For years I have search to look for speakers that would replace my old B&W. Then luckky for me I found a store that is kind enough to let me audition theses speakers. It's like magic , I never ever heard a speaker at this price to sound this good... very good. By all means , I think its hard to beat EROS at its price range. And the amp/cross-over that is with the speaker makes it even harder to beat. Iam very satisfied with EROS and I think its going to stay in my system for a long, long time. Thanks to Wilfred who is the owner of the shop who sold me the EROS.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 12, 2002]
Mike
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

deep bass articulate highs typical stat mids accurate imaging wide and deep soundstage unbelieveable vocals Big bang for the buck Product support from Roger Sanders

Weakness:

none

I'll start by first stating that these speakers are GREAT. I purchased these as a demo model with the MKI crossover amp, and MKII electrostatic panels. My speakers have wood trim accent pieces. The speakers are a little over 6' tall, approx 20" wide and weigh about 90lbs each. Positioning them properly requires some toe in, but they are not picky in terms of wall placement. One reason for this is that the electronic crossove amp acts as an equalizer to a degree -- allowing the amount of bass to be increased or decreased to the room's acoustics and placement needs. Back to the music. The sound is absolutley incredible I can't believe I waited so long to upgrade my system. I really do like these speakers. The bass is tight, not at all boomy, loud and accurate. Much better than MLs or Maggies. The midrange and treble is exactly what you would ecpect from stats. Unbelievablly accurate, precise vocals, precise highs, and no harshness at all. They are very detailed. You really do hear everything. I hear notes and sounds on old recordings that I never knew were there. As a bonus, some say that electrostatic speakers don't rock. Well, let me tell you. These do. In as few words as possible, you get the bass of a great dynamic speaker, with the mids and highs of stats. The imaging is precise, and the soundstage is wide and deep. Everytime I listen, I feel like I'm at a concert. I cannot recommend them enough.

Similar Products Used:

auditioned PSB Goldi, Revel F30, Magnepan 1.6 and Martin Logan Accents and Quests.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 21, 2000]
Rob
Audiophile

Strength:

"you are there" voices with a very warm and full range sound

Weakness:

none apparent

Wow ! Finally a speaker that can give you the ultra realsim of Electrostats or Planers with Ribbon's, and the full range
sound. What a magic show.

I am replaying all my CD's and increased my listening from 4 hrs to 8 hrs per week. I have owned many speakers over the years in the $3 - $10K range and these are the first even my wife said "this is the sound I have been waiting for".

The transmission woofer is outstanding and much better build quality than the Martin Logan's. The base amp that comes with the system is very good and what a great price for about $4,500.

This company is HOT and I hope to see many more outstanding values from them.

Similar Products Used:

Dunlavy Aletha's, Martin Logan ReQuests, Magnepan 3.6

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 14, 2000]
Charles Bloodworth
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Linearity, low-distortion, transient response, bandwidth, musicality, "aliveness," reliability, dynamics, you name it.

Weakness:

I like exotic woods, and the InnerSound speakers come only in a black finish. I can live with this.

I've been reluctant to review this speaker for several reasons. There is little I can add to what has already been said, other than more superlatives, and if you haven't been following the reviews on this product, you need to play a little "catch-up." Check out the other reviews here, and in the magazines. You can read all the print reviews to date on the InnerSound Web site, at http://www.innersound.net. There has never been a speaker quite like this, though a few can match in a few areas, but no other takes every performance parameter to such a high level. I speak from the perspective of both months of listening and extensive objective testing, and have no doubt that this loudspeaker system represents a very real advance in the audio state-of-the-art.

It's quite easy to show these advances with objective measurements, but to fully appreciate what it all means you really must hear the Eros for yourself. And to hear it at it's best, you must hear it with the ESL panels driven by InnerSound's own ESL Amplifier, which is designed specifically for ESL loads. The combination produces horn-like dynamics and volume levels without the slightest sign of strain, and the results are simply stunning.

You'll see terms like "magical" and "holographic" used in other reviews of this speaker, but there is no magic here. It's simply linearity and low distortion being taken to new levels, and the results are stunning. The imaging is so precise that "holographic" is the only word that seems to apply.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

The "magic" in the Eros comes from it's designer, Roger Sanders. Roger's been a DIY experimenter in ESL and TL (transmission-line) design for some three decades, and over the years he's gone a long way toward perfecting each of these technologies. His book, "The Electrostatic Loudspeaker Cookbook" is the standard reference work on ESL design, and he's published numerous articles for SpeakerBuilder and other DIY publications. Now Roger has "gone public" with his designs, and started InnerSound, the worlds premiere ESL manufacturing company.

While the Eros looks similar to the Martin-Logan requests or SL-3's, and is priced in the same neighborhood, its performance must be compared with the M-L Statements. A flat, rather than curved panel is used, because after inventing the curved ESL, and publishing an article on the process in SpeakerBuilder, Roger discovered that there are certain disadvantages. Read his "Cookbook" for the details. The difference between the curved and flat ESL is minor though, in comparison to the woofer section of the M-L line as well as other designs. The InnerSound woofers are custom designed for use in the transmission-line enclosure, and use very heavy magnesium baskets and massive magnets. They cost much more, but this level of performance demands no less. The real success of the Eros design lies in the unique transmission-line techniques that Roger has developed. Until you hear how well this woofer integrates with the ESL, you simply won't believe it. The TL completely elements the ringing and resonance that most bass systems suffer from, and the speakers go very deep.

The doublets and triplets played on track 7 (??) of the "Titanic" CD will curl your hair. ;-) The clarity of orchestral works will amaze you. Pipe organ will buzz your seat (and your room if everything's not firmly attached). The speakers will go very loud, to the point of pain and ear damage (with the right amp), and it's easy to run them too loud, because they are so clean and clear. The clarity never suffers at any volume level, from the just audible to the near painful, which is yet another indication of their superior performance.

Don't buy any speaker in the Eros or Isis price range (or above) until you get a chance to hear the InnerSound offerings. I believe they represent the hights performance value for the dollar in hi-fi today, by giving unparalleled performance at a price that many can actually afford. DON'T listen to these things if you can't afford the entry price.

And, don't miss them if you can.

If you want to hear through the speakers back to the mix and beyond, this is the best choice on the market today. Laboratory quality at popular prices. Check it out for yourself.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Servo-Static I, Carver QLS-III's

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 30, 2000]
Larry
Audiophile

Strength:

"Holographic imaging" is overused in audio description, but not an exaggeration with these speakers, they own it.

Weakness:

None that I have found

I had read several reviews of the Innersound "Eros" electrostatic hybrid loudspeakers, and noted the very
enthusiastic comments, but forgot about them. Then a dealer I know got them, and insisted that I listen. I
wasted a week trying to deny how good they were, and then
bought 'em. No regrets here.
The Eros speakers IMHO are the first truly seamless electrostatic/dynamic hybrid I've heard, and they are
superior to any of the M-L speakers in this regard.The
transmission-line woofers are fast and articulate, and
do not lag the electrostatic panels in apparent speed.
They do go deep, and loud if desired; system efficiency
is 96 db! With careful attention to set-up (read the manual
just this once), they are astonishing in their speed, and
absolute transparency. They give the "reach out and touch
the vocalist" illusion better than anything out there.
This is a biamped system, with the one-box active
crossover/equalizer/bass amplifier included in the package.
The current version offers both balanced and RCA inputs and
outputs, and is dead quiet in operation.
The speaker design will allow placement close to the
back wall, and the width of the soundstage is limited only
by how far apart you can place the speakers in your room.
They provide incredible soundstage fill,(provided you toe the panels directly at your listening seat), and no limit
on soundstage depth. Instruments and voices will have very dimensional and precise location in space, to a degree that
you will have to hear for yourself to believe. They don't
merely call attention to small details,(although you will
hear more in the music than ever before), but recreate the
space of the recording site, in full 3-D. There is always
a lot of laughing and head-shaking amazement whenever I
demonstrate the Eros to friends who are music lovers first
and foremost, because they really serve the music.
By far the best speaker cable I have used with the
Eros is the Harmonic Technology PRO-11; there is magic
in the combination that gives the best midrange of any
cable that I have tried, and if you get that right, every-
thing else just falls into place.
The one thing that must be mentioned is that these
speakers do beam the high frequencies, and this is by
design. The Eros will provide a window into another dimension for only one listening seat; they will fill a
room with music, but all the magic happens where the
speakers are precisely pointed. To be fair, this is also true of nearly all speakers noted for their imaging ability.
The positive side of this directional beaming is that
there is not a lot of widely dispersed reflections with
varying arrival times, that would otherwise destroy the
great soundstage and 3-D illusion that is produced.
Finally, they got a huge thumbs-up from my wife,
who said that they are the clearest sounding speakers
she had ever heard, (and she heard quite a few), and
she likes the looks. Try to hear these speakers, because they will demolish your previously-held ideas about what
is possible in home sound reproduction, in a size and
price that is reasonable, by today's standards. More
to follow, in another posting.

Similar Products Used:

Apogee Duetta Sig., Gallo Nucleus Ref., Acoustats (various)

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 28, 2000]
victor larivee
Audiophile

Strength:

a seel at 5000.00

Weakness:

you and your significant other cannot hold hands and listen to great music

I have owned and listen to many dynamic speakers over the last 30 years and having been lucky enough to have friends who own Two different high-end audio salons. Been enable to comfortably without sales pressure listen to speakers and electronics in the extremely big buck range. Have you ever noticed the advertisements in the audio magazines. Their speaker has the low distortion similar to electrostatic speakers. There speaker has the clarity of electrostatic speakers. There speaker has the transient response of electrostatic speaker. Well one day I got it maybe what I am looking for is a the electrostatic speaker. So the search was on no one I personally new owned electrostatics. So off to the sales floor Martin Logan, sound lab, quad and even Magnepan. All these speakers beat the pants off of 95 percent of the dynamic speakers out there in all my important parameters except in most cases the bass frequencies. Then I listen to the sound lab's eros the speaker is a treasure it hasn't all Linearity, low-distortion, transient response, bandwidth, musicality, aliveness, dynamics,if sound lab's were to build the cabinet of exotic wood i believe he could sell the speaker for many times the asking price. My final test when purchasing in audio product is to call home and see who's there well at sound lab's Roger Sanders the designer and well-known expert on electrostatic speakers is home. Talking to Roger is a pleasure kind courteous and above all knowledgeable this is a man who wants to sell his product and will bend over backwards to make sure you are completely satisfied. and I have been. The speaker and the company has truly delivered the goods.
As with everything there are a couple of things one should know before purchasing (1) this is definitely a one-person speaker (2) setup is absolutely critical by using the owner's manual this is a very easy process.( 3) you may have to discover a number of your LP and CDs this speaker will give you a true picture of the recording where and how it was recorded.(4) there may not be a dealer in your area. if all the reviews have stirred your curiosity and you can read more at the inner sound website. Then give Roger a call he will ship speakers to serious customers with a thirty-day moneyback guaranty. This is not be paid had but a very happy audiophile.
Musical preferences:
a Capella
vocal jazz
combo jazz
bluegrasses
rhythm and blues
garage band rock

System:
V. P. I Mark IV ,external power supply, stand-alone motor
SME 309
Benz HO9
Audio research phono preamp
CAL audio DVD/CD
Audio research 15 preamp
pass 5 amp 60 wpc into 8 90 wpc into 4 and beyond
inner sound bass amp 400 wpc
silver audio cables throughout

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-6 of 6  

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