Getting out of Electrostats

[dolsey01]

My Martin Logans have been sitting under their dust covers for almost a year now. There are currently some Sonus Faber's in their spot. I love them both and plan on just rotating them occasionally. Hopefully that will keep me from buying a third pair of speakers.

[joey_v]

Originally Posted by nalthien

You made pretty diverse choices there with Sonus Faber, B&W, and Focal--what was it about those speakers that drove your switch. You say you won't go back; what makes it stick?





Thanks for sharing--why'd you end up sticking with dynamics?

3 different house sounds for me, all good, but I have my preference.

I think at this time, it's almost a toss up between the BW and the Focal. The SF take the 3rd place.

I just like how the response is more even across the larger lateral And vertical window and I like how I don't have to deal with the backwave.

[nalthien]

Well, I went out and did about a 2 hour demo of the ML 13As. In every way they are an upgrade from my Theos. The sound stage is wider. The sweet spot a bit more fluid, and I found less than stellar source material far less grating to my ears.

For all that was positive, there was one overwhelming note that shone above all others: these are still Logans. They still have the same strengths and weaknesses. Sure, the strengths are stronger and the weaknesses not as pronounced; but, all in all, I left with a sense that these are not the droids...err speakers I'm looking for.

[Mister Pig]

I have been a fan of the electrostatic sound since the first time I heard Martin Logan CLS speakers at the local high end shop. I enjoy the sound from all planar speakers, whether they be Magnepans to Apogees. However, the classic speakers are difficult to maintain now, and shipping them for refurbishment is expensive at the very least, or impossible due to packing requirements. So I do not own planers, no matter how much I like them.

What I have found is that a quality set of well engineered horn based speakers have the strengths of speed, transparency, and soundstage that a good electrostatic has, but also have the advantage of dynamic shading in the macro and micro regions that they do not. Now I am not talking about a 60's era horn based speaker, such as a Klipsch. Rather Harmon International has put significant resources into the Synthesis series of JBL speakers, and they can do the detail and transparency that an electrostat does without being peaky or shouty like many people think an old school horn is.

I bought a used pair of JBL 4365 off the used market, and have been quite pleased with the purchase. When properly set up I can a soundstage that goes from wall to wall, extends outside the speakers, can go to the top of the ceiling, and has a good 7 to 9 feet of overall depth. Harmon has put a lot of time and research into these new generation horns, and they have state of the art test facilities to accomplish this. This has been my choice for speakers that give me electrostatic like qualities, but are easier to live with.

Cheers
Mister Pig

[nalthien]

Interesting that you bring up Harman and their research! It was that work that led me to purchase a pair of Revel Salon 2. No horns, of course; but, they were clear winners in my own tests.

[Toccata]

I went from Theos to B&W 804 to my current DALI Epicon 2. I think good dynamic speakers have a greater sense of texture and body to the sound, and the best rival 'stats for transparency. For what it's worth, I thought the Martin Logan room was among the worst sounding at the last two California Audio Shows. One had Neoliths and the other EL13s.

[robinmtns]

I had various electrostats for many years. Quad ESL57s, Quad 989s, and a couple different models of Martin Logans. I think the technology is what first sold me and then kept me going. Surely if I could only get these dialed in, or with the right amp, or in the right place in the room, or in the right room, they would blow my mind.

Trouble is instead of listening to music I was always trying something else that would for sure get them to sound like music. The Quads were both limited with a stunning midrange but little else, and the MLs always sounded like plastic to me (for lack of a better description). Then I got into a time in my life where I was moving every year or so. And six foot tall speakers became totally impractical, to move and to find a house with a room they would work in.

I finally said "why am I doing this?" I had a soft spot in my heart for the 57s and had earlier gave those to my son. Sold my ML's and went to Vandersteen 5s. Those arent as unweildy as a couple of towering electrostats but unfortunately weigh about 150lbs each. So on my next move overseas, I had to give those up.

When I returned to the States I started researching speakers and came across glowing reports of a fairly rare old speaker: the Spendor S100. I remember being struck by one particular review by a guy who had to sell his pair. He told of sitting on the curb sobbing when his speakers drove away with their new owner! I was in Houston about a month later going thru Craigslist ads and low and behold there was a pair in Baton Rouge. Called the guy up and asked how long does it take to get to Baton Rouge from Houston? Bought them without hearing them, got them home and fell in love. Funny, because they are the farthest thing from an electrostat and the farthest thing from 'high tech' you can imagine.

I cant really explain it. All I can say is they always sound like music and I can listen to them almost endlessly. And I no longer analyze what the speaker is doing. I just sit back and enjoy.

[Charles]

I heard a pair of ML's by chance at my dealer several years ago. I was struck by the transparency. Never heard anything like it and I owned Maxx3's at that time. I stayed interested for about 2-4 months. Actually researched Neoliths extensively. They were just coming out at the time. Finally decided against them. Can't remember why at this point.