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Electrostatic pros and cons.

I recently saw a feature on the program, "how it's made" on electrostatic speakers and it piqued my interest in them. I was wondering the pros and cons of them, their placement, space needs, sound, etc. Any advice would be appreciated.









128x128giantsalami
ohlala
1,231 posts
 
The main pro I would say is the very low distortion with their air-damped diaphragm. They have a high resolution and high articulation that gives a crystalline, yet fatigue-free sound. The other pro is that as a line source, one can sit very far away with little degradation in sound. Their main problem is the very limited excursion creates with "thwap" effect and they have a limited dynamics. Their dispersion can be considered good and bad. While have keep and even power throughout a room, lateral dispersion can not be so great localizing the sound to the speaker. That can depend on the model. Front wall distance is important. I have heard a set up that caused a mid bass bump because the speakers were too close.  

I would encourage anybody really to hear Soundlabs. They are the best example of electrostatics, imo. Stax SR-009 headphones are also a great experience. 
audiokinesis
2,715 posts
 

The strengths of electrostats usually include superb inner detail and articulation, low coloration, very good to superb imaging, and excellent pitch definition in the bass region. They tend to sound startlingly natural.

The weaknesses of electrostats relative to good traditional box speakers usually include more modest SPL capabilities, reduced low-end extension and reduced low-end impact, more difficult load for the amplifier (which translates into higher amplifier cost), requiring a lot of room for proper setup, small sweet spot, and reduced reliability. Also, electrostats tend to be fairly expensive, as building an electrostatic speaker is quite labor-intensive. It means building very large drivers basically from scratch.

There are exceptions to some of the above weaknesses. The big SoundLabs I used to sell had excellent bass extension and a larger sweet spot than most "conventional" speakers; the Beveridges an even larger sweet spot; and some Acoustats and Roger Sanders’ designs are capable of very high SPLs.

Any full-range dipole speaker benefits from being positioned fairly far out into the room. The reason is, if the backwave reflection off the wall behind the speakers arrives too early, it can be detrimental. But if it arrives after a long enough time delay, it is beneficial. Ime 3 feet is borderline; if you can’t position dipole speakers at least 3 feet out from the wall, they are probably not going to work very well in your room. Ime 5 feet is significantly better than 3 feet.

Duke

maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
One of my favorite aspects to my King Sound Electrostats is the bass seem to come from within the soundstage between the speakers . Where the instrument is perceived to be coming from .With  box speakers the bass is all around the room . 
erik_squires
15,670 posts
 
The main pro I would say is the very low distortion with their air-damped diaphragm.

Never seen an electrostatic measure well in terms of distortion, if we use the same term used in electronics. ESL's' often _measure_ poorly but sound very good.


The strengths of electrostats usually include superb inner detail and articulation, low coloration, very good to superb imaging, and excellent pitch definition in the bass region. They tend to sound startlingly natural.

Very true. Those large diaphrams can really work acoustic magic. By avoiding floor, ceiling and side to side bounce they can produce some of the same detail as headphones.

Similarly, very wide panel speakers like the Sonus Faber Amati Homage can do much the same.
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