TL;DR: Longtime member here, just havent logged in for awhile since I wasn’t supposed to trade equipment anymore (wife and kids)-- so why feed the addiction!
Sorry to revive an old thread but I feel I need to right a wrong here. I have lived with a setup that I still love for many years: B&W 602 s3 mounted on Atacama Nexus stands, biamped with NAD C350 integrated and Roksan Caspian mk1 power amp, with straightwire interconnects and quality speaker wire. Source is usually either a Yamaha CDR-HT1000 recorder or Marantz"KI" CD player. Only "modern" upgrade has been an Audioengine B1 bluetooth receiver to listen to my apple music collection.
The wrong that I want to right is thinking the Eosone RSF400 are not anything but excellent for the $ range. Yes, Polk did contract Artie Nudell to build a speaker line to sell at Best Buy. As the story goes (someone said there was a recent video from Paul at PS audio), the speakers blew away the competition which was Bose, but the speakers were priced at a audiophile level at Bestbuy (ie, msrp of $800 for entry level, $2000 for top of the line) so only $30 million were sold, which led to the cancellation of the line. The point is they absolutely bear the qualities Infinity was known for (i’d say better than Primus, approaching Kappas), even though Polk manufactured the components. Polk is no slouch as well, given quality budget speakers like the RTi A9 and A7s. (I have had Wharfdale diamonds, Mission 783, Epos ES25, and Dynaudio emit m20.)
I just picked up a set of RSF400 from a guy who was practically clinically depressed to let them go (speculating wife made him do it during Covid19). They were a steal at $100 because the guy kept them in immaculate condition. All stock original drivers and foam surrounds were in perfect condition, cabinets were almost perfect (not a scratch on them). Two downsides IMO is they are not bi-amped, and they do not take banana plugs, so it’s a terminal wrap on that end. MDF cabinet is solidly constructed. Really interesting to see a rear-firing tweeter and rear woofer (in addition to fronts) and rear bass port at this level.
Setup is key as with others.Trying both power amps, I believe my C350 is the better pairing with the KSF400 because the Caspian made the top end a little overpowering and "twangy". Also better away from the back wall with the rear firing ports (at least 12 inches). I also found them better on my ears with the grills off. The KSF400 more than held its own against the excellent $650/pair 602 S3s (which I compared single amped to be fairer). Side by side, same tracks and listening room, the 602s still edge the 400s out, being more revealing, slightly better at imaging, more dynamic, and more punchy on the bottom end; but the laid back, neutral sound is still musical and highly enjoyable. The ultimate references for me are the eponymous Portishead album and Erikah Badu/Root collab "You got me" -- turned up loud-- given the tracks’ jazz-like vocals and bass demands.
Hope people give a nice example a chance, especially as they are so undervalued!
