What is your opinion regarding electrostatics?


I am planning to purchase a pair of FINAL o.3 ESL/hybrids (made in the Netherlands). Surprisingly, these speakers did not make a review in any major audio U.S. publication, I wonder why....
Has anyone had the opportunity to listen to the Final's?
Power amp: parasound hc-3500 / Preamp by Placette
Musical tastes: jazz/blues/rock & french pop
herve1

Showing 4 responses by frap

Duke, nice post. Nothing to add, except to remind you that even though a large panel does manage to "shake the walls" at 28cps, they still do not have the piston action of a great 12 or 15" woofer system, to give the "slam in your gut" bass delivery.
A woofer assembly like the one used in the Infinity IRS V or the many great subs that have been made with proper attention to ideal dampening Q ratios, is the only thing that can give something like "The Sheffield Drum Record" its proper dues. I wish it were'nt this way, because the only way that I have found to integrate the ESLs and the subs sucessfully is to run the panels full range and then overlap the subs. Just a thought to those that want it all in a system. When Levinson brought the HQD to the shows in 78, I think he really did have the right basic idea that stands to this day, at least in concept........Frank
Hello Herve, The truth of the matter is, once you live with a good Electrostatic or Planer, the midrange of conventional drivers may be hard to return to. Certainly ESL dynamics are constricted, as well as the bottom octaves lacking in weight and slam (but not on String Bass). All of this fades into inconsequence when voices and the majority of middle frequencies are reproduced thru these panels.
This has been the case as far back as the KLH-9 days as well as through Quad, Stax, Beverage, Sound Labs, Acoustat and Magneplaner to name the ones I am familiar with.
Amazingly, there are many audiophiles that do not like the sound produced by panel type speakers and opt for B&W type of conventional monitors. While these will satisfy the other needs (SPL, slam etc) they still do not approach the panel level of "you are there".
Ribbon drivers, while even faster than ESLs fail to retain the "Warmth" level present in the human voice. You get all this fabulous clarity, speed and air, yet you can never get all the metallic sound out to get you to REAL.
As a furthur thought to Sean's excellent post above, I find the backwave (doublet) dipole to be the ESL/Planer's greatest Strength, and a huge contributor to the live sound illusion. (Maybe Amar was right about that after all!!)
There is a group of Audiophiles that I respect who regard the Western Electric (Altec) 755A driver the equal of a ESL midrange. I know that enough good ears have reported on the sound of these historic drivers to warrent possible truth to the statement...........Frank
You folks mentioning the proper toe in angle might be interested in my findings.
On running the ESLs along the long wall of a 23'X 14' room, I find the best compromise to be 36 inches off the wall minimum, with a slight toe-in. Roughly halfway to the point where you would have them be a direct line to your ear, at a dead center seating position. While more upper treble detail can appear to be had at the full toe in or direct line pattern, there is somewhat more listener fatigue, and less overall enjoyment, if you do.
Another benefit of halfway toe-in is that it buys you more distance away from the backwall, possibly another 8 to 10 inches.
I do beleive that using the short wall, and getting the distance of the room in your favor is the more optimal way to run most any speaker. I think Stereo integration occurs better at 20 feet then at 10. Anyone have an opinion? Might make a good thread..........Frank
Detlof, I dont know if you are aware of it, but the great tonearm owner/designer of SME (Alistair Aikman)(dont know if thats the correct spelling),runs 2 pair of ESL-63, not stacked, but just as you described above. It seems that the right angles DO produce the holograph akin to the real event. Check out HiFi News & Record Review on the Aikman interview years back if you have the issues. According to the interviewer the sound at casa Aikman was positively live. This audio superstar can own just about anything he wants. Must be something to it...........Frank