Well, I finally finished applying all the coats of coats of Danish oil (7 on the main body, and 9-10 on the backs). I also received the new screws for the woofers, so I can finally listen to them. All I can say is WOW!
I don't have stands, so I plonked them on some bench grippers with pins on top of my Royd RR3. This puts them quite high, but the tweeters end up at ear level with me sitting on my office chair. I'll probably get stands made for this height.
Sonically, they image crazy good! It's solid whether I sit in the "sweet spot", or up against my desk (which puts me almost between the speakers).
The bass is tight and controlled, although the extension isn't as deep as the RR3 (which is ported). As might be expected, though, they don't seem to suffer from bass resonances like ported speakers often do.
They are fast and communicative, never losing the plot. They also seem to handle volume better than the RR3 (and are slightly more efficient). However, the RR3 sounds exceptionally good at low levels, and the Ergo IX doesn't quite match it in that respect.
I do think they need some breaking in, because they sound a touch shouty and ragged, but not unbearably so (except for brief moments here and there).
I'm going to leave them where they are while I get some stands made up, which should take a few weeks. Then I'll try to go back to the RR3 and see how they compare after the Ergo IX has had a chance to break in.
BTW, I'm driving them with Avondale Voyagers (with Benchmark DAC2 as pre).
So far I'm very impressed. Thank-you, James and Stefan!!!