Innersound Eros Mk. III Loudspeaker.(T$S)

Manufacturer: Innersound LLC, 2400 Central Ave, Suite L, Boulder, CO 80301; 720/210-1925; www.Innersound.net

Price: $10,000 including bass amplifier/crossover

Source: Manufacturer loan

Reviewer: Glenn Strauss

Preface: There will be those who would argue that no $10,000/ pair loudspeaker is "sensible." Well, let's first consider that the price here includes a state-of-the-art crossover, a state-of-the-art amplifier capable of 600 wpc into the load it is asked to drive, and a first-class remote control. If all you listen to is digital discs, you can forego a standalone preamp and use the crossover's gain stage. Then there is the unquestionable fact, often forgotten in these days of extravagant cables and other audio tweaks, that it is the speakers that make or break an audio system. Skimp on the speakers and all else is for naught. Skimp on investing wisely and one will be in continuous cycle of buy/ sell/trade, with the attendant financial pain. My advice has and will continue to be that readers should buy the best-engineered and -constructed loudspeaker they find musically pleasing, even if that requires a bit of a stretch.

I normally try to keep family out of my reviews. Why pull them into the often nightmarish cultism of the High-End? Yet, my dear wife Lisa, who puts up with all manner of home invasions by peculiarly large speakers, anaconda-like cables, and enough test gear to rival Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory, summed up in seven words what nearly everyone who has heard the Innersound Eros Mk. III has echoed: "Get another pair of these for downstairs!" It was after her first exposure to the Eros, playing the SACD release of Norah Jones's hugely popular debut album.

The Innersound Eros Mk. III is the delightful result of the combination of a talented amateur-turned-professional designer, years of trial, error, and refinement, and progressive improvements in the underlying technologies employed in the product's realization. It is a transducer of startling clarity, transparency, dynamics, and accuracy in a package both suitable for and compatible with moderate to large rooms. Within the envelope of its design objectives, it is largely flawless, which makes it competitive with the world's great loudspeakers. Whether it is the right loudspeaker for you is another story, one that deserves a careful reading.