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View Full Version : Epos ELS-3 vs. CBM-170?



curtis
02-21-2004, 10:13 AM
I have read great things about them as well!

Does your friend live close? Will you get a chance to compare?

-curtis
http://www.websmileys.com/sm/happy/059.gif

Bob
02-21-2004, 10:20 AM
Yes, he lives about 15 minutes driving distance away. I am gonna do AB Comparison with my 170s.

curtis
02-21-2004, 10:37 AM
Great!

-curtis
http://www.websmileys.com/sm/happy/059.gif

JohnnyCasaba
02-21-2004, 03:35 PM
Bob,

Look forward to hearing your impressions. I saw that review a month or so back, would like to hear the Epos' for myself. There was an unopened pair on Audiogon a short time back for $225.00.

Bob
02-22-2004, 09:20 AM
The problem is, it will take some time to get that from dealer. I hope it is not more than one month.

curtis
02-22-2004, 10:25 AM
uh oh....seems like you are already thinking about returning the Ascends. [:)]

-curtis

Bob
02-22-2004, 12:02 PM
I don't know what made you think like that but as I told, I cannot be more satisfied with my ascend setup and have no plan to return or upgrade so far[:)]. FYI, my trial period has already ended some months ago.

The reason I am excited about is, there are a lot of good speakers out there with this price range but I did not hear about ELS-3 before and I am so glad to have a chance to hear them.

curtis
02-22-2004, 12:05 PM
Oh! My misunderstanding....I got that from the "I hope it is not more than one month" statement.

Sorry!

-curtis

Bob
02-22-2004, 12:08 PM
It's OK. I understood.

Bob
02-27-2004, 10:28 PM
It arrived yesterday earlier than I expected and my friend came to me with the box unopened[:p]. Mt first impression was, "small". Yes, compared to my CBM, it is small, more like my HTM-200.

We listened about two hours and of course it was not broken in yet. We, me and my friend, agreed on having audition again a month later but I want to express my thoughts about epos els-3 with unbroken-in condition compared to my CBMs fully broken-in.

Actually I took some photographs of them with my CBMs but I donno how to upload them. Anybody can show me how?

They were powered by Yamaha rxv530 receiver and I used 31" stands. Test place is a small apartment living room. I forgot about the impedence of epos, 4 Ohm. My setting was 8 Ohm for CBMs and I used it bravely[:D]. I realized it after we finished listening session. Anyway my receiver has survived but do you guys think it has affected the sound? FYI, it was not ab comparison but switching.

The music we listened:
Sarah McLachlan:surfacing, afterglow, Pink Floyd:Dark Side of the Moon, Nirvana, Leonard Cohen, some Piano Solos, some Jazz, etc.

First, I removed my CBMs from stands and put ELS-3 on them and played. Here are my impressions. Considering the size of the speaker, it FILLs the room very TIGHT[:0]. What I am saying TIGHT is, the sound stage filling the room from corner to corner. With Pink Floyd, it is amazing to feel that sound with this tiny speakers with tight bass. My wife thought I was playing with my whole 5.1 channels. But compared to my CBMs, I had to turn up the volume some dBs more to achieve similar output. With Sarah's music, vocals pops out like CBMs and it is not a laid back kind of speaker I guess. But bass could have been lower but considering that it was just out of box, it will improve. 64 Hz is a little bit better number than CBMs but not now. The manual is saying that it could be heard aggressive(what is it?) and less deep in bass before 20 to 40 hours break in.

O.K, now you guys may want to ask, is it that good with the price so low? I cannot answer that yet because I have something more to say.

All the time I played music through ELS-3, maybe from first time played, I hear something different from my CBMs. it was highs(like Sarah's vocal), not clear highs. It has been so obvious that I suspect it it so called "aggressive" in the manual. Here is my question, when my CBMs arrived first time, the highs of them were not so bad compared it after break in. So I want to see what is going to happen in ELS-3 after break in. But I remember from a personal posting of ELS-3 saying that someone does not like the highs of ELS-3. So my assumption is, it is very likely that the highs of ELS-3 is not so good as CBMs even after break in. Or, do you guys think it is because of my receiver setting of 8 Ohms instead of 4 Ohms? Or, does it need more power to make clear highs so it becomes $1000 worth of speakers? You guys can tell me with your experience.

Overall, here is my conclusion. if the highs improve a lot after break in, I am gonna purchase it for my second setting.

P.S. I switched it back with my CBMs and it confirmed my thoughts regarding the highs of ELS-3s.

Lou-the-dog
02-27-2004, 11:44 PM
I read a recent post on another forum about an individual wondering about recievers with settable ohm switchs. The consensus seemed to be that, if anything, sound would degrade when switching to a 4 ohm setting. Most the posters said they still run an 8 ohm setting even if the speakers are rated at 4 ohm. If I get time I'll try to find the thread and post a link.

Randy

Lou-the-dog
02-28-2004, 01:39 AM
This is the link I was referring to over in the Rocket Forum. Scroll down to a post by BigWally. http://forum.av123.com/showthread.php?s=0229b674d746a4eae26def6417a7e052&threadid=2582&highlight=ohm

Bob
03-02-2004, 06:52 PM
Thanks Lou-the-dog for link and info. It helps.

It's been days since I posted my thoughts about epos els-3. But regardless of their lackness of clarity in highs, their ability of throwing big sound stage is still impressive in memory whenever I listen my CBMs. So I think it is time to think about pros and cons of my CBMs(I have owned one pair of this since last November). It will be fair also.

Pros: clear vocals, solid midrange
Cons: sound stage, shh sound at some high pitch female vocal or some instruments(I suspect my Yamaha receiver at this though but I am not sure yet)

curtis
03-02-2004, 11:29 PM
Bob,

Do you think you might get a chance to A/B the ELS-3 and CBM-170?

-curtis
http://www.danasoft.com/sig/AscendForum.jpg

Bob
03-03-2004, 09:53 AM
Unfortunately, I could just switch them one by one as I mentioned earlier. But because I am so familier with the sound of my CBMs, it was not difficult to find differences.

curtis
03-03-2004, 10:41 AM
true...but different rooms and positions can play a big part on the soundstage/dispurtion....and even on the same electronics.

-curtis
http://www.danasoft.com/sig/AscendForum.jpg

Bob
05-29-2004, 11:27 AM
I happened to read a short review of ELS-3 like below.

http://reviews.iwon.com/pscAudioReview/Main+Speaker/NHT%2CSuperOne/PRD_120243_1594crx.aspx

"..I just acquired a pair of Epos ELS-3 for another room. These are excellent speakers, and I am not sure which I like better, but they are very revealing and a bit more 3-dimensional sounding. They also have a big sound for being so tiny. It is interesting that played in the same room with the same electronics, The NHT and EPOS both sound clear and full. In another room with different electronics (NAD 2150 amp/Soundcraftsman pre-amp), the highs on the Epos become somewhat brassy and less clear, while the base remains good. I Haven't tried the NHTs in that room. Goes to show that many variables contribute to a sound quality."