Osborn Eos, opinions and evaluations?

[Cafad]

How many people out there have heard Greg Osborns new bookshelf speaker, the Eos, and what do they think about its performance.

 

I have a pair on order and plan to use them to continue my integrated amp endeavours but I thought I would ask ahead of their arrival to get an idea as to what people think of these speakers and how well they have been received.  I'll add my own opinions in a fortnight or so.

 

 

[Jventer]

Cafad

I briefly had a Redgum RGi60 (ex vmhf) and sold it to a guy in WA.

He then bought the Eos to use with the Redgum. 

I quote his comments etc. from Greg's website which is basically what he told me:

 

"the second was a person in Mt Tom Price in WA, who wanted to downgrade from his much larger floor standing speakers (not mine) to a more compact system. he used a subwoofer with these larger speakers, but when he receive the Eos Reference, he found the sub unnecessary. Here is his unsolicited email. 

Hi Greg, the Eos arrived today and right out of the box they are amazing. Nothing whatsoever to complain about, and I'm expecting them to get even better with some running in.  I'm very glad I chose to get the reference model: the tweeter really is amazing and without being harsh it exposes the finer timbre of hi hats, cymbal and even hand claps have incredible detail and variance between each clap.  The bass is extraordinary. I've turned off my subwoofer to just enjoy the Eos. It's not about them being "great for their size"... they're superb in comparison to any sized speaker.
I've got a really difficult room - an old brick house with fibro sheets internally rather than plaster, so very boomy and reflective at the same time. No matter how I set up the subwoofer I couldn't tame the bass, but the Eos don't care and just do their stuff. 
I gave away trying to build up a good surround sound system some years ago, and have never regretted sticking with two-channel stereo. Who needs surround when stereo can be portrayed with both width and depth? 
Now I'm happily working through all my old favourite recordings and wallowing in the extra detail and finesse.  Day two and I'm still almost disbelieving of what these little speakers are capable of. And they look beautiful."
 

 

[Cafad]

That Redgum amp of Victors gets around doesn't it?  Thanks JV.

 

I ordered the standard version of the Eos rather than the reference version but Greg says he is now using a new tweeter that is noticeably better than the old one (he didn't say if it will be used across the whole range or just for the Eos) so I am hoping this new tweeter will be slightly less fussy than the older one.  Mind you I am happy for it to be a bit fussy, how else am I going to be able to find out which amps have better treble grip than others?

[betty boop]

How many people out there have heard Greg Osborns new bookshelf speaker, the Eos, and what do they think about its performance.

 

I have a pair on order and plan to use them to continue my integrated amp endeavours but I thought I would ask ahead of their arrival to get an idea as to what people think of these speakers and how well they have been received.  I'll add my own opinions in a fortnight or so.

 

 

Eos.jpg

 

is it really any different to his titan and titan reference ?. I honestly think its one of the best speakers greg makes. looks like the eos uses focal drivers like the titan as well ?

[Cafad]

The Eos is meant to be a slightly cut down version of the Titan (I think the Titan is going to be removed from his line up as he can't get the bass drivers any more), sort of a lighter and more practical version.

[Cafad]

Well my pair of Eos in Jarrah have arrived and are being run in.  They sound pretty damn good, nice top end (with a little bit of break up I think) and nice tight, punchy bass with a clean and clear mid range, though I'm getting ahead of myself since they won't be run in for their 100 hours until Saturday.  They are off to a very nice start however.

 

One thing I have noticed recently is that the pictures used by many online retailers are very lacklustre and do not do the items justice.  The Eos is one of these items, so I've taken a few pics of an Eos next to an S2 so that interested parties can get an idea of size, appearance and finish quality.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm not sure that this is always the case but I will say that putting up a pic is a whole lot easier than typing a thousand words, so here is an essay in several pics.

 

 

Side by side, the Eos is just a tad smaller than the S2.

 

And again, but topless!

 

Side on, don't know about you but I'm loving that Jarrah  .

 

And the bum shot, not enough shots of the backsides of speakers out there in internet land so I thought I'd provide one.

 

And last but by no means least, an "action shot" complete with optional air foil.

[Cafad]

You know, I never thought I'd have anything bad to say about that British Racing Green finish on the S2s but now I do.  Since it is a nice gloss finish if you look at the pic of the two speakers side on you can see the reflection of my legs and crotch in the gloss. 

 

Moral of the story, always stand when taking pics of a speaker with a gloss finish!

Edited August 15, 2013 by Cafad

[niss_man]

I'm glad I wasn't looking at the s2's in that much detail. Those osborns are gorgeous. Do you know what drivers they use?

[Cafad]

Any driver as long as it's a focal.  Greg loves those focal drivers.  He includes driver size and weight details on his site.

[Darren69]

Cant blame him for loving the Focal drivers. Ooh la la!!

[henry218]

i got 1 proble with it, the binding post is too cheap for my liking

[wolster]

Great looking speakers. Looking forward to the write-up.

[jeffpr]

how much $ are they?

[Cafad]

Standard RRP is $1720 (from memory).  I just got my order in before his EOY 15% off sale ended.

[muzzagruzz]

I adore the Jarrah finish. Very nice speakers Cafad.

My Legend Acouatics Kurre 7's are also in jarrah with a slight sheen to them. Stunning!

Enjoy your new speakers.

T

[FAPOS]

The jarrah does look nice, i imagine the bubinga looks good too.

 

Any chance you've heard a set of the Focal Chorus 806 or 807 W & can make a comparison?

[Cafad]

The jarrah does look nice, i imagine the bubinga looks good too.

 

Any chance you've heard a set of the Focal Chorus 806 or 807 W & can make a comparison?

Sorry mate, the only speakers that I have heard with Focal drivers are Gregs.  I wonder if Tom (twwen2) could assist in that regard?

[Dave.R]

Hi Cafad, I've been peeking into this forum for a while, resisting joining because I've been trying not to feed my need for reading and spending and upgrading and obsessing over all the hifi-candy here. But I do have to ask if you've posted a review or update on your Eos since you got them? I found this thread and was hoping for your opinion now that you've had them a while.

I'm the guy who bought the Eos and commented on Greg's website, and I bought that RGi60 from JV (hi again JV, I'm back home in Vic now and although I still have the RGi60, I've stepped up to a 120 to drive the Eos). And I managed to finally snap up a CD5, which I'd been after for a while. I'm still enjoying the Redgum/Eos combo, but now that I've got a bigger room I've added the small sub back in the the system. Il probably move up to some bigger Osborns in the near future.

I gather you both have a soft spot for Redgum gear, so below is a vanity pic of some Redgum components I've collected (175 monos with pre, and a CD2, and the 120, the CD5, RGHF for the Floats, and an i60, and Redgum phono pre behind the Stax)

Out on loan are another pair of 175 monos + pre, i35, another i60 and a Redgum DAC2 - I have an addiction to those wooden facias I think!

As for the Eos, when I upgrade to a larger speaker it will have to be a reference version, because there's no way I can go back after experiencing that beryllium focal driver. It really is stunning. The only problem I've found with the Eos is they will play loud enough that the tweeter wants to rip holes in your eardrums at times. Otherwise, between Ian's and Greg's gear I just kick back and enjoy the music.

Id love to know what you think of the Eos, and thanks for reading.

Al, Greg says the Eos is pretty damn close to the Titan. He expected lighter bass but re the differences "there's not much in it".

And just to clarify, I didn't downgrade from larger floorstanders. I had a pair of Redgum Mannas, and wanted to try the Eos because I could, because I've heard some of Greg's other speakers and found them excellent, and I couldn't pass up trying the focal driver and a reference mini-monitor.

Dave.

[Jventer]

Welcome Dave

You do have a lot of Redgum stuff -  cafad will be jealous!

[Cafad]

Welcome to the boards Dave, as first posts go that one is a doozy.

 

I have been a bit distracted from this thread I must admit, I tried the Eos with the Shengya 203mk and when I wound up the volume the sound turned steel hard and changed dimentionally in ways I can't even begin to describe except to say that it sounded "bad" (I'm guessing that is what happens when you feed it too many watts) so I swapped back to the S2Rs and I've been using them ever since.

 

I've found the Eos to be a small step up from the Eclipse in the treble and I imagine that is due to Greg changing tweeters, if you feel that the Eos can be a bit of an ear gouger at high volume then you really should not move to an older model of Gregs as they will only be more harsh in the highs.  I haven't heard that Beryllium tweeter (damn it!) but I know many good things have been written about them.

 

In the bass department I am very impressed with the Eos, it doesn't go as deep as the Eclipse does but it goes there faster and is slightly better behaved in the areas that are not so deep.  I think the Eos is a bargain at $1720.  I can certainly understand why Greg is selling a lot of them.

 

I will admit to liking my Lenehan S2Rs more than I do the Eos, but then they cost more than twice as much so that shouldn't really surprise anyone.

 

OK, I've got a few questions for you regarding all that hardwood you have stacked all over your floor but I'd rather not go so far off topic in this thread about the Eos, what say I jump across to that Redgum thread I started on the RGM175?

http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/53513-redgum-rgm175-component-system/

Cause I really want to know how the Redgum DAC2 compares to the DAC section in the cd5, and how the RGi120 compares to the RG175s, and the RGi60.  

 

I'd also like to know what happened to Luc?  He should have been able to smell a post about Redgum gear by now.

[Dave.R]

Thanks Cafad,

I can understand the Eos faltering with too many watts. They're not built to take a large amount of power like the Lenehans. They can be wound up on some music, but it's hit-and-miss with others. They do sing like a dream for my favourite jazz/vocals albums, and that tweeter makes for gobsmacking sound-staging and imaging. They were perfect for when I was living away, but now I'm home I'll be looking for something bigger (and louder with a bit of slam, hence considering eclipse or epitomes).

I love the tightness of the bass, that's at more realistic levels for instruments than having every bass note being gut-slamming. It's perfectly acceptable when the recordings have wide dynamics, because in real life that double bass doesn't really knock me off my chair. I want it to sound real and emotive (I think there's too much expectation for anything bass to be room-shaking, now that it's trendy to buy HT or docks from Harvey Norman and to crank those 1000 watts PMPO to 11 and ignore the distortion and flubbering coming from the chipboard and plastic subwoofer box).

The ear-shredding nature of the tweeters isn't harshness or distortion though: it's the spl at high hz that hurts (pun possibly intended). But they definitely work to define a pinpoint soundstage and keep the highs from being swamped or smeared by mids and lows... a single triangle at the back of the orchestra can be followed regardless what else is going on.

And the jarrah boxes, well we all know they're simply fine furniture.

I'll wander over to the 175 thread and comment on the Redgum side of things...

Dave.

[Cafad]

Cheers Dave, and thanks for sharing your opinions on the Eos.  I"m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the Redgum gear too.

[Darren69]

Me too, have lusted over a few Redgum bits but never got the wallet out yet.

[Dave.R]

Ok, sticking with the Eos comments in this thread.

I've plugged them into the Redgum 175 monos, a step up from the Redgum 120 (I'll try to give some decent comments on the Redgum amps over in the other thread as Cafad has suggested above).

Caveats:

-I'm a bit over the audio clichés and usual patter used in reviews, but I might let a few slip in just because they'll make sense to people here.

-I prefer to enjoy the whole musical experience than to listen critically.

-I often struggle to determine whether an individual tweak is an improvement or merely "different", but when all the parts are put together I can clearly distinguish which I prefer.

So, without further ado...

1) RGCD5 > 175 monos > Eos (references). No sub: I wouldn't want to crank the monos too high for fear of detonating the Eos, but around 50% is the limit my ears can cope with and there's zero distortion or breakup. The focal tweeters aren't tearing my eardrums this time, but it seems to be due to an increased forwardness (authority?) in the bass and mid, not at all smudging the highs, but not letting them dominate. The bass is quite deep and tight, and if I close my eyes I could quite easily say I was listening to a pair of decent floorstanders.

The focal tweeters define the soundstage and give pinpoint detail to vocals and upper registers of instruments. The detail and breathiness in Xavier Rudd's didge playing is spine-tingling, Rickie Lee Jones is singing into the microphone in front of me. On one recording I heard for the first time where the engineer nudged the vocalist's fader up a tad. I can hear where on a triangle the musician is hitting, as it changes with each subsequent strike. I can hear the strike and the ring as separate components. There is more detail in that triangle than I'd thought possible to record (that's the Eos focal tweeter, rather than the step up to the 120).

With sub: more bass of course, but it sort of spoils the enjoyment of listening to the Eos' little W-driver punching above its weight.

2) Rega3 > Redgum phono pre > 175 monos > Eos: now I need to crank the monos to about 60% (that's to do with my Garrott output and the phono pre gain). And with that there's nothing to fault with the vinyl reproduction. Norah Jones is divine, the whole presentation is nicely balanced and those focal tweeters once more give a whole range of spatial definition and detail to everything, without any harshness (Cafad, you have to experience these little beauties at some point. I'm sure JV will testify that once heard, there's no going back). I've just listened to the whole Moomba Jazz '76 Vol 1 - one of my favourites for Multi-instrument separation and variety. No sub. I was transfixed. So much detail and the Eos keeps everything nicely separate and doing its own thing. And in its place on a nice, wide soundstage. It shows off vinyl as still being a worthy source medium.

Ok, enough of my raving over the Eos. They're purely mesmerising with vinyl, but they don't like extreme watts pumped into them, and near their limit the spl from the tweeters can pierce armour-plating. But they love snappy transients, they showcase vocals and let you hear all those micro-dynamics you didn't even know we're there. With a little augmentation from a small sub (I used the Boston Vr500 with upgraded Kevlar cone) you have the equivalent of some fine floorstanders. These speakers completely disappear with ease.

(remember too, besides the beryllium tweeter, Greg adds lead sheeting to the reference model for extra damping. I haven't heard the non-reference version, but my brother has a pair of Interludes and the Eos imaging and detail puts them to shame)

Well, that's my $3.75 worth for my opinion on the Eos. Purely and unashamedly subjective of course!

Darren, you appear to have a neat setup, and I'm not sure where you'd fit a Redgum, but I'd recommend a listen regardless.

Dave.

[Darren69]

Thanks Dave, was a good read. I will keep a look out.