An electrostatic experience

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Ian, Apr 16, 2004.

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  1. Ian

    Ian Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Milford, Maine
    I had some time to kill before class yesterday so I decided to stop by Summit Sound and see what was happening. He has had a pair of Final electrostatic speakers for a while now but today he had them hooked up. I sat down for a few minutes to give them a listen. We gave them some volume and I was immediately floored. Such sparkle without being harsh. Imaging like crazy. Absolutely huge sound stage. So much depth. I've never heard such realism. They were simply unbelievable. Bass was a bit lacking but the smoothness of the mid and treble made up for it in spades.

    As much as I like my Atoms, these simply blew me away. Definitely got something to shoot for after I'm done with school... The Harley comes after those ;)
     
  2. ksmitty

    ksmitty Senior Member

    I know some of the Martin Logan's I have heard sound terrific . They are the only ones that I have heard.
     
  3. Ben Sinise

    Ben Sinise Forum Reticent

    Location:
    Sydney
    Ian, obviously seduced by that sound, eh?

    'Stats have a very beguiling sound, that's for sure, as long as you can live with their limitations. Restricted volume level, bass output and dynamics being the most obvious... but what they do right is, as you say, the midrange and treble - almost a tangible sound. I've only owned Quad 57's and there is nothing quite as nice for low level listening - string and voice reproduction to die for, and from a speaker almost half a century old - Peter Walker was some designer!

    What you will find when you do live with them though, is that they need quite a bit of space from rear and side walls to give their best. There's the need for extra power inputs, and they need time to charge. Many people may not have the room or be prepared for the fussing about that's required... but the good news is that they mate extremely well with tubes ... the bad news, that they're expensive to purchase and repair properly if damaged.

    I haven't heard the latest Quads yet - 988 or 989 - but they are an attempt to correct some of the shortcomings of most 'stats. They would need to be very good for me to consider buying them at their list price; not outrageous by high-end standards, but still a major spend for me.
     
  4. fjhuerta

    fjhuerta New Member

    Location:
    México City
    My experience with 'stats is not so good. I longed to buy a set for some 5 years. When I could finally afford them, I found out I really hated them. They became strident and harsh when pushed hard (MartinLogan Scenarios), and were a pain to set-up.

    It took me 2 years to finally get them to sound right, and I had to use a digital EQ, a subwoofer, a big SS amp, and lots of tweaks. Plus, since I never had the space for them, I had to give them to my parents...

    They love how Sinatra sings through them, though. That's what matters most.
     
  5. Ian

    Ian Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Milford, Maine
    I also noticed that their "Sweet spot" is miniscule, and off axis listening isn't so hot either. Although, regarding the latter, I did just read that Martin Logan has been trying to address that problem.

    I figured that they would and my apt has a wonky lay out on top of it.

    Granted these were hooked up to a Parasound SS power amp, but I would love to hear these with a high powered Sonic Frontiers or VAC giving them the push.
     
  6. Ken D

    Ken D New Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Quad 63 USA monitors will beguile you also. Usually $1600 - 1800 on Audiogon
     
  7. Ben Sinise

    Ben Sinise Forum Reticent

    Location:
    Sydney
    This is where I become envious. That is such a bargain compared to prices here.

    A really decent pair of '63's will go for around $2000-2400 in the US, and about 900-$1200 in the UK. Here they want about 60-90% mark up on those prices in equivalent terms. These are for speakers with maybe one new replacement panel and some new electronics, and unfortunately, the guys doing the repairs and updates are sometimes not up to the task, particularly matching panels. I was interested in buying a pair of these in Sydney, and I've seen 2 pairs for sale in 8 months - and that is in a city with a population of over 4 million people. There is only one dealer, and the new 989 for instance, costs the equivalent of US$10,400 here.

    If I was to buy 2nd hand it would have to be from the UK - we run on 240 volts. There's several good rebuilders there, but shipping costs start to make things ugly once more.

    At the prices you can buy them for, they would be great for a 2nd system - you'd probably still need other speakers for rock music.
     
  8. -=Rudy=-

    -=Rudy=- ♪♫♪♫♫♪♪♫♪♪ Staff

    Location:
    US
    Martin-Logan has been attempting to widen the sweet spot by making panels that are curved. Electrostatic panels were usually flat up until that point, since you have something like a sheet of very thin plastic suspended tautly in air (impregnated with some kind of conductive material, like graphite).

    Back in 1987-1988, a salesman I knew at Absolute Sound was practically jumping out of his skin when I arrived--I just had to hear these new speakers they'd just gotten in. A couple of listens to the Martin-Logan CLS (I came back a couple weeks later armed with my own arsenal of discs :D ) and I was hooked! Thing is, at that point, I would have had to replace some of my electronics as well as the speakers, and didn't have the money at that point. But it's the first time I'd ever heard such detail in the music and recordings! Some studio recordings I though were good actually sounded very clinical and lifeless, and others (like a dmp Records CD I'd taken) just sparkled. I'd still love a pair now, but definitely would need some good subs that mate well with the electrostatic sound. M-L has made some hybrids--I heard the Sequel and wasn't all that impressed, though. It just didn't have that transparent goose-pimply sound I got from the CLS panels. :) Definitely not speakers I could "rock" with, but since that's a small part of my listening these days, it's not a big problem.
     
  9. tomcat

    tomcat Senior Member

    Location:
    Switzerland
    Many years ago I had the opportunity to listen to the CLS with an early Cyrus amp. Don't yell: they worked very well together, believe it or not. But while they made some well recorded CDs shine, some 90 percent of my then CD repertoire - mostly pop & rock - sounded really terribly :sigh: . I was lucky not to buy them, since I got into Apogees a few years later. These magnetostatic/ribbon speakers are such fun to listen to :thumbsup: . I've never regret having bought these. But after all, the CLS is probably the most beautiful speaker I have ever seen :love:
     
  10. -=Rudy=-

    -=Rudy=- ♪♫♪♫♫♪♪♫♪♪ Staff

    Location:
    US
    I found that also. I thought a couple of my CDs were well-recorded, but nothing really had any "space" around it. Multitrack at its finest, I guess. The CDs that were recorded more simply, sounded more natural. I had with me Manfredo Fest's "Braziliana" CD, which was recorded by Tom Jung on dmp Records, and you actually have a sense of "atmosphere" with this disc. Maybe the recording chain was that much better...?

    :thumbsup: They would look more beautiful in my living room. :D (If I ever get a pair, of course. ;) ) There is something, though, about those large panels and the "transparent" look of them...it's definitely a conversation starter.
     
  11. tomcat

    tomcat Senior Member

    Location:
    Switzerland
    One of the greatest and yet weirdest (but also most fascinating) CDs for listening via the CLS was the "Pump Up The Volume" CD-Maxi. Those percussion sounds literally came from everywhere!
     
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