Inner Sound Eros Experiences

plato, sure i listen in the sweet-spot - when i'm alone. lotsa times, that's not the case. in my current set-up, i can actually be, say, to the right of the right-hand speaker, & i still get a decent soundstage. granted, it's not nearly as nice as being in that *spot*, but it's still enjoyable.

some speakers, are *so* sensitive, that even small head-movements, while sitting in the sweet-spot, can change the soundstage. i've heard this before, & it's not wery pleasant, imho...

regards, doug

Doug, I understand your point and do not necessarily disagree with your view. As soon as I can find a speaker that has the considerable strengths of the Eros (and to the same degree), plus a decent off-axis presentation and isn't double the price, I'll buy it. So far I've been hearing a lot of highly-rated speakers that all seem to have at least one coloration or area that I can't live with or too high a price. Another thing: I don't want any speaker that weighs in at much over 100 lbs per side. I've heard that the Newform speakers are very good, but haven't heard them myself. Can't say I like them from an aesthetic viewpoint and I wonder about the adequacy of their bass performance and their dynamic capability. Any decent speaker could be considered great, but it's always a question of what you're comparing it to. And any great speaker can be made to sound pretty awful as well. BTW, I don't put much faith in BFS because I have disagreed strongly with some of their reviews in the past. I know they don't take advertizing, which may eliminate the potential for bias in that area; but I seriously question their judgement (or lack thereof).

I had a pair of Eros Inner sound speakers and the ESL amp in my home for a few weeks. My general observation, They play LOUD (105 db SPL+) in an approximately 8000 cu foot room. The bass integration is as good as all but the very best hybrid design, but does require careful room placement. I found it best when the speakers were fairly far from the wall despite the manufacturers claims. If you want the absolute bottom octave you will need a sub. I think that they are a very good value for the money and would recommend a listen. I think they are especially good on art rock and chamber. They aren't quite so good on very large scale orchestral music but then I'm comparing them with my Dunlavy SC-V and customized 400 watt Melos monoblocks. I've also owned full range Acoustats and double Quads so I have some experience with the electrostat sound.

Plato -- This is not meant to discourage you from liking your innersound spkrs, but if you're serious abt wanting a better spkr with a wider 'sweet spot' and all around superior spkr, try the merlin vsm-m. I directly compared them to the innersound and the merlin substantially bettered them in all areas. I actually wanted to like the innersound spkrs because I liked the idea of the bass amp etc... A note of disclosure: I owned merlin vsm-se spkrs for abt 3 yrs before I went shopping for new spkrs.

hi plato, i can't disagree w/what yure saying here - of course, *1st* priority is *ewe*, in the sweet-spot. :>)

re: newforms, i haven't heard 'em either - but their 30-day audition policy seems fair enuff, & i'd only be out shipping, if i dint tink they were *the ones*. re: their bass-response, it's really not an issue for me, as i already have a subwoofer set-up, but i can see possible concerns if ya don't. 'cuz of my subs, i'm currently leaning towards the nhb645's, instead of the r645's, cuz, while they sacrifice a few hz at the bottom, i tink they'd be faster up to 1khz, where they have to blend w/the e-stats. i'm also considering doing a custom-yob, w/accuton drivers, which should be an order of magnitude faster than *either* of the above...

regarding bfs, i try to take *all* second-hand info as a starting-point, to narrow my search. in the case of the newforms, unless there's someone in the frederick md area that has 'em & wants to inwite me to hear 'em, i'm stuck - except for being willing to risk return-shipping charges.

regards, doug

oh, re: the newforms' appearance, ya mean there are speakers out there that are actually *uglier*??? ;~)