What so special about electro-static speaker

Andy2,

Kal is right - Maggies aren't electrostats and a good electrostat will outperform the Maggies in some areas (including retrieval of low-level detail). But chances are neither will image as precisely as a good conventional speaker.

I'm a dealer for a pretty serious line of full-range electrostats, and I'm also a fan of Avalon speakers. If I were adding a high-end "conventional" speaker company to my lineup, Avalon would be at the top of my list.

I think the Eidolon was in the twenty grand ballpark when it was discontinued, so my comments will be comparing it to fullrange electrostats priced between fifteen and twenty grand a pair.

The Avalon would probably have more precise imaging, play somewhat louder, and have more impact in the bass region. The electrostat would have richer ambience and maybe a little better sense of depth, better low-level detail, and more natural timbre and texture of voices and instruments (though this is something the Avalons also do very well with). In the bass the electrostat would go just as low with superb pitch definition, but wouldn't have the impact that the Avalons do (that's something dipoles inherently don't do very well at). Depending on the particular model, the electrostat might well have a wider sweet spot. The electrostat will radiate as a line-source-approximator instead of a point-source-approximator, so the SPL will be more uniform throughout the listening room (which is beneficial for off-axis soundstaging). Also, not that the Avalons are any slouches in this area either, but a good full-range electrostat excels at long-term fatigue-free listening. Several factors go into this, and I can go into more detail if you'd like.

The Avalons would of course have a higher WAF and probably a lower hidden amplifier cost, as electrostats tend to have expensive taste in large amplifiers.

Feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you'd like information on the specific models I sell. If you have more general questions this forum might be a good place, in case others are also interested.

Best regards,

Duke

NGjockey and Aktchi,

My comments assumed large fullrange SoundLabs or possibly Quad 989 (or whatever its successor is). These big megastats have the diaphragm area to do deep bass.

I have four customers who claim to have measured their full-sized SoundLabs (M-1 or A-1) as -3 dB somewhere in the lower 20's. I was present for one such measurement, in which we got -6dB with the 20 Hz 1/3 octave band on a Stereophile test disc using a Radio Shack sound pressure level meter. The Rat Shack meter is down 4 or 5 dB at 20 Hz, so factoring that in we had a -3 dB point in the 20 Hz ballpark.

NGjockey, I understand what you're saying about the strings and bow but not the wood, and yes that applies to smaller stats but not to the big ones. I have a customer who plays voilin in a symphony orchestra in New England, and before the audition he told me that the only speakers he'd ever heard do justice to his instrument was his personal pair of highly tweaked Quad 57's. During the audition (he brought 90 CD's and it took 2 days!) he told me that not only did the big SoundLabs get the violin right, they also got the cello and string bass right, which he said he'd never heard any speakers do before.

Now I'm not saying big electrostats are the answer for everyone who can afford and accomodate them, but the big ones can do some things that the little ones cannot. And since the original poster was asking for comparisons with Eidolons, price-wise that left the door open for the big dogs of the electrostatic world.

In all fairness note that the planar magnetic Maggie 20.1 and hybrid electrostatic InnerSound Kaya have similar bass extension, and the big Maggie is less expensive than the big SoundLabs.

Duke