For 10 yrs I lived with a pair of active stats -- AudioExclusiv, a German product. The amps were an OTL design, with adjustable input gain. The electronic cross-over was also adjustable to +/-3db @ 30Hz/12kHz.
The sound was beautiful: soundstage, imaging, and speed were obvious characteristics, as were the natural timbres. Unusually (for stats), I also had dynamics and reasonable transient attack! The lower register was also well developed by stat standards of the time... by comparison to the Quads (THEN, 1990), the A-Es went higher and lower and louder.
They were also beautiful to look at (tall & narrow, art-deco style) with outstanding WAF.
So why sell? I could no longer deal with the constant need for servicing. The amps operated at their very limit (by comparison, class A is polite) and would go beserk (i.e. components were surpassing their limits, & blowing) at any fluctuation in the power supply -- of which, I had many.
Apparently the problems I had have been addressed in newer models.
I do beleive that if this had been the case then, I would have kept these speakers -- "for life", as it were.
The sound was beautiful: soundstage, imaging, and speed were obvious characteristics, as were the natural timbres. Unusually (for stats), I also had dynamics and reasonable transient attack! The lower register was also well developed by stat standards of the time... by comparison to the Quads (THEN, 1990), the A-Es went higher and lower and louder.
They were also beautiful to look at (tall & narrow, art-deco style) with outstanding WAF.
So why sell? I could no longer deal with the constant need for servicing. The amps operated at their very limit (by comparison, class A is polite) and would go beserk (i.e. components were surpassing their limits, & blowing) at any fluctuation in the power supply -- of which, I had many.
Apparently the problems I had have been addressed in newer models.
I do beleive that if this had been the case then, I would have kept these speakers -- "for life", as it were.