Epos ELS 3 High-Fidelity Home Theater Speakers (pair)

One pair of INCREDIBLE sounding Epos ELS 3 bookshelf home theater speakers. These have been used very modestly over the years, and are in pristine physical and operational condition. 

Ships in factory original packaging, and includes original gold-plated banana posts for perfect wire connections.

Black/Ebony color with mesh grills.

(The following review is from Stereophile magazine)

"The ELS-3 is a shielded two-way bass-reflex design. Its 1" aluminum-dome, tweeter is a new and proprietary Epos design using a neodymium magnet. The 5" woofer has an injection-molded polypropylene cone and a rolled rubber surround, all on a heavy chassis of diecast aluminum. To reduce cost, Epos used a cabinet featuring a vinyl wrap rather than the real-wood veneers featured on more expensive Epos designs. Even so, I was quite taken with the light cherry finish (dark cherry is also available), which I found attractive and elegant. A center-channel variation of the ELS-3, the ELS-3C, should be available by the time you read this.

I'm used to $300/pair speakers being packaged with dumbed-down owner's manuals: "This is the black terminal, this is the red terminal, don't leave the speakers out in the rain, electricity is dangerous." Not so with the Epos. Mike Creek's exhaustively detailed yet accessible manual intelligently discusses system setup, speaker placement, and the importance of good wiring. He even goes into detail about how many hours of break-in are required, and describes how one will hear the sound change as the speakers break in. He recommends leaving the grilles off for best performance, and I agree: The ELS-3 was slightly more detailed and transparent with its grille off, but the difference wasn't dramatic.

Big sound, small price 
When I began reviewing audio gear 20 years ago, friends criticized my style—if my conclusions were favorable, I tended to tip my hand at the very beginning. Over the years I think I've matured in my writing and have learned to contain my enthusiasm during the writing of a favorable review. Well, consider this review a reversion to journalistic adolescence: I have not been this excited about an entry-level speaker in years.

Was the ELS-3 special because it had a natural tonal balance with no noticeable colorations throughout its entire range? That was true, but that's not why the speaker was special. Was it because the ELS-3s projected a wide, open soundstage, and completely "disappeared" with well-recorded program material? Also true, but also not quite the point. Or was it because, despite its small size and price, I was unable to hear any glaring flaws whatsoever in the ELS-3—unless I pushed the speaker beyond what one could reasonably expect for its size? True again, but still not why the ELS-3 was special.

The Epos ELS-3 was special because, in three areas, it exceeded in performance what I've heard from its competition. The ELS-3 had:
• superior midbass definition and realism on a wide range of program material;
• high-level dynamic bloom beyond what I'd reasonably expect from a speaker of its size; and
• a level of detail resolution I normally associate with speakers approaching $1000/pair.

Jazz fans will love the ELS-3's reproduction of well-recorded string bass. Ray Brown's bass solo on "I'm an Old Cowhand," from Sonny Rollins' Way Out West (CD, Verve/JVC VICJ 60083), was warm but not overly so, and vibrant, with just the right amount of naturally wooden resonant buzz. My listening notes: "I want these. They sound so good I don't miss my big speakers."

Gary Wilson puts his electric-bass chops through its paces on "When You Walk Into My Dreams," from his You Think You Really Know Me (CD, Motel MRCD 007), as he plays rapid melodic figures throughout the instrument's range. An inferior speaker will show a discontinuity between the instrument's upper and lower registers; at worst, Wilson can sound like two different players. The ELS-3 was natural quick and uncolored throughout the track, which pointed out another unusual feature of the speaker.

In most speakers I've heard of this size and price, the designer has made some compromise in bass extension: either he's limited the midbass extension, or he's created a resonant, "hooty" discontinuity in the midbass in the design of the port tuning. Not so with the Epos ELS-3—the extended midbass and upper bass were cut from the same sonic cloth. As such, the synthesized bass on all tracks of Sade's Love Deluxe (CD, Epic EK 53178) were tuneful and linear, with no sense of overhang on any notes. But don't expect deep-bass performance from these tiny puppies; timpani sounded timbrally correct but not dramatic, and orchestral bass drums didn't shake the room.

High-level dynamic slam is a character I'm used to forgoing on speakers this small. I didn't have to with the ELS-3. The high-energy dance rock of "La Locomotora," from Reves/Yosoy (Luaka Bop 47574-2), combines a frantic, heavily modulated drum machine with an amplified acoustic string bass. The Eposes didn't flinch as I cranked up this great tune to around 95dB and twitched around the listening room (the wife and kids weren't home). Well-recorded acoustic music also highlighted the ELS-3's wide, natural dynamic capabilities. On Jerome Harris' The Mooche, from JA's  compilation (CD, Stereophile STPH016-2), the jazz ensemble breathed organically, as in a live performance, from the most delicate passages of the vibes solos to the forceful tuttis with blatty brass.

The startling detail resolution of the Epos enabled me to hear analytically into recordings even as it enhanced my enjoyment of them. On Mark Ribot's idiosyncratic solo-guitar rendering of John Lennon's "Happiness Is a Warm Gun," from Saints (CD, Atlantic 83461-2), his fingerpicked amplified archtop was tactile and rich, every nuance so realistic I was unable to take notes while listening. The hum of the guitar amp was clearly audible as well. On the Modern Jazz Quartet's Concorde (CD, Atlantic/JVC JVXRC 203-2), I noticed for the first time how the drums, vibes, and bass interact almost to the point of improvised fugal counterpoint. Likewise with Cantus' "Danny Boy," from Editor's Choice: it was very easy to follow the separate vocal lines of rich, naturally recorded male voices.

The whole package came together brilliantly on "Strange Fruit," from Cassandra Wilson's New Moon Daughter (LP, Blue Note 8 37183 1). Graham Haynes' opening bass riff was (intentionally) boomy but natural, rich, and deep. Chris Whitley's Resophonic guitar was scratchy and metallic, and by the time Lonnie Plaxico's tactile, burnished cornet enters prior to Wilson's seductive opening lines, all of the musicians seemed to be playing in my listening room."