Inner Sound Eros Experiences

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*??? ;~)

I've got the Newform Research Monitor 30's and the soundstage and imaging are great. The sweet spot, about maybe 2 people wide, but it is listeable in much wider area. They have that great airiness of electrostatics. These are made to mated to subwoofers so not directly comparable to the 645 series. With only a 30 inch ribbon, you can definitely tell the difference when you stand up. These speakers definitely need a quality subwoofer. I need to upgrade to a faster one. I have some of the rare full length grilles, which help their odd apprearance, but they sound better with them off
Thanks, just my two cents worth.