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Line Arrays - Competitive with best dynanics, ESL?

Line arrays don't get talked about very often at all. We all talk about our Wilsons, or Kharms, or Von Schweikert... of course the representatives from the planar camp, the maggies, ML, Soundlabs... Also the horns - Avantegarge, Acapella, etc....

What about the line arrays? I used to have a pair of bottlehead straight 8s. Cheap, well implemented line array, and they sounded awesome. They didn't rewrite the books of detail or dynamics, but threw a very lush soundstage, and had a tonal "rightness" about them.

Has anyone changed from a well-regarded dynamic, planar, or horn and moved to a line array? Pipedreams? Wisdom? Others? What are the pros/cons of line arrays in your opinion?
goatwuss

Showing 1 response by plato

plato
1,543 posts
 
I moved from large electrostatics (InnerSound Eros) and also Klipsch horn speakers to VMPS RM30s (a ribbon-hybrid line source). I'm getting the best detailing, focus, and transient speed I've ever heard. The biggest surprise is that the RM30 were every bit as good as the Klipsch Chorus in reproducing wide dynamic swings.

As with other types of speakers, not all line sources are created equal. I'm a big fan of the line-array design, but the performance of the various models and brands can and does vary quite a bit.
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