Your favorite Electrostatic, Panel spkr


 I’m putting together an analog system. First on the list was a turntable, I’ve settled on the Denon DP 59L. 
  Now let’s hear from the owners of some panel electrostatic type speakers, not ones you dreamed of owning, ones that you’ve owned and the reason why they were your favorite. 
kgveteran
I had been living a long time with Audiostatic ES300. I LOVED them until the mylar get "old" and "unstretched" (or loosing their conductive coating, never knew really what it was).
Until that moment (after 10 years or so), they really sang like real people. What a thrill to listen to the real Shirley Horn in your room... Never had a sub at that time. But a Cello Encore amplifier was enough to make them alive.
Well, in the end I tried several tricks to make them alive again, but didn't succeed by any mean. The price to buy new foils was high (around 1.500€) and then you still have to put them in which is not as easy as with ML. I decided that they could stay disassembled somewhere in my house till I would have enough money to fix them.
And I bought second-hand Apogee Centaurus Minor which I liked very much and a pair of Apogee Stage that i LOVE. Almost as transparent as the Audiostatic, but more balanced due to the strong and tight bass extension.
But I'll repair the Audiostatic some day, for sure.
jperel9, all you have to do is remove any grill cloth, take a heat gun and wave it over the diaphragm at a distance of 6 inches. You will actually see the mylar tighten up! But BIG WARNING do not stop waving and leave the gun pointed at one spot. You will melt the Mylar. Mylar does not get old. It has a half life of 50,000 years. You can heat it over and over again.
The loosening is happening because Audiostatic did not adequately pre stretch the mylar. All ESLs loosen a bit (break in) but usually not enough to cause trouble if the mylar was stretched tight to begin with.
 I currently own Martin Logan Summit X electrostatic hybrids. I love them. The sound is incredibly full and lifelike. I am powering them with concert fidelity 200 W monobloc amplifiers.