General Asylum: REVIEW: Inner Sound Innersound ESL Monoblocs Amplifier (SS) by HarryB

I don't usually post reviews here...but I have been incredibly impressed with my new Innersound ESL monoblocks. Electostatic speakers like my Martin-Logan CLS IIz's pose a difficult load for an amplifier. While not an expert in this area, my rudimentary understanding is that substantial impedence drop leads to a reactive load on the amp....and this can lead to difficulty.

Prior to obtaining the Innersound monoblocks, I was using a Marsh a400s which was, in most respects, an outstanding amplifier. I thought it did just about everything well. Reviews of the Marsh have characterized it as having an "extroverted" high end, and I would agree with this. But, overall, I was very very impressed with the Marsh. However, I had a hunch that more power would improve the overall performance of the electrostats. Also, the Marsh would occasionally go into protect mode at higher volumes. This was not a problem at listening volume.

Enter the ESL Innersound Monoblocks. WOW!!!! These are outstanding amps, particularly in the ease that they handle the electrostats. I underestimated the difference that moving from the 330 w/ch (4 ohm) Marsh a400s to the 1200 w/ch (4ohm) Innersound Monoblocks would make. Much more punch and expansiveness without loss of what I loved about Marsh...that is, clarity, detail and transparency. And frankly, I think the high end is closer to live musical accuracy than it was with the Marsh.

I probably could have lived with the 600w/ch stereo Innersound ESL amp...but I guess I'm just one of those power hungry individuals trying to compensate for some underlying insecurity. I didn't want to have to wonder anymore what additional power into the electrostats would sound like.

Build quality of the Innersounds is excellent. Customer support from Roger Saunders has been outstanding. He has spent a lot of time on the phone with this obsessive audiophile...and is very knowledgeable, patient, and friendly. He even threw in all cables and interconnects which are excellent.

My next step is to compare his coaxial cables (supposedly optimized for electrostat) which sound quite outstanding..with my former Tara The One Speaker cables. I'll post that later!!

Conclusion: Innersound monoblocks are outstanding amps, particularly for difficult electrostatic loads. While I've only tried them with my Martin Logans, my guess is that this is true for Magnepans, Sound-Labs, and other electrostats.

REVIEW: Inner Sound Innersound ESL Monoblocs Amplifier (SS) Review by HarryB at Audio Asylum