[Review] Eryke S Concept - Superioro Speakers and Stands

Eryk S Concept Superioro Speakers with stands

Art form?

Product name: Superioro Speakers with Stands
Manufacturer: Eryk S Concept
Cost: £700 for stands or £450 for the metal version, £350 when purchased with the speakers. (Currency conversion)
(YMMV)

Reviewer: Mike Cox - TNT UK
Reviewed: May, 2014

Back in early December 2013 I reviewed the Eryk S Concept Superioro speakers and I was very impressed. I was so impressed I now have my own pair of Superioros but before acquiring the Superioro's I wanted a better stand solution. At the time of the review I used a pair of Atacama stands that were too wide as well as not a good cosmetic match. The official solution has now arrived and is a much better visual match to the speakers. The construction is of wood so is much lighter than my steel, sand filled Atacama stands.

The top plate is of natural finish plywood, the upright continues the plywood theme with an insert running up the front. The upright is a T shape in cross section finished to match the speakers in white for the front, top of the T. The upright of T is finished in silk finish black as is the base.

The job of a speaker stand is to support the speaker at the right height whilst adding nothing to the sound. Rarely is this the case, every structure resonates at some level so a stand that resonates with a similar tone to the speakers seems a sensible choice. The similar construction and materials used in the stand should mean the resonant behaviour is similar to the speakers.

There is an alternative stand available from Atacama, a custom design from steel with a top plate suitable for the Superioros. The Atacama's come in a small range of colours including white that would match well with my version of the Superioro's. Eryk S Concept will also be producing a more conventional metal stand for the Superioro speakers that will be available in May 2014. Personally I prefer the look and finish of the dedicated wood Superioro stands.

There appears to be no attachment method supplied to mount the speakers to the stands so I used 4 pieces of Blutack at the corner of each speaker. This method of attachment works well and the speakers are not easily knocked of the stands. I have to space my speakers well away from the rear wall due to the room being built partially into the roof with a dorma window. Despite this limitation the Superioro's work well, the location gives the rear port plenty of room the breath. The dedicated stands offer a firm foundation with no obvious resonances or additional coloration to the sound. These speakers produce a large scale sound stage, much larger than you would expect for the size of the speakers. The matching stands seem to add to the air and spaciousness of the sound stage, everything you would expect from a good stand.

Since first reviewing the Superioro it occurred to me that they have some similarities with the Eclipse TD series of speakers, a single full range driver. Whatever the design origins the result is is first rate and I have no regrets changing my main speakers to the Superioro. With the addition of the matching stands the solution is now complete! Well, that is almost true, shortly I will be reviewing the Superioro amplifier. This new amplifier is styled to match the speakers. The circuit uses valves (tubes) with bluetooth connectivity as well as a single set of analogue phono inputs, watch this space.