Do larger planar speakers produce more accurate sound?


Planar speakers generate sound pressure via vibrating membrane panels. The excursion of the membrane x radiating area= sound pressure. This would mean that for a given sound level, membranes have smaller excursion in larger planar speakers than in smaller ones. Does this mean that larger speakers will produce more accurate sound?

I am not talking about the obvious benefits of the larger speakers in terms of low frequency production, so let's not get into that.

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Well, I don’t know about all that, but I DO know that IN MY SHOP, we listened to every box, electrostat, etc. speaker available and the only ones that sounded like the instruments we were playing live were the Maggies.

Yes, we played trumpet solo and then switched back and forth between trumpet solo recordings, same with clarinet, guitar (all versions) and (unfortunately due to size of the shop) electric piano, and drums. When we switched back and forth, we could not tell the difference (behind a scrim, so no visuals here) between the live instruments and the Maggies (driven by Audio Research gear).

Solved the question for me, BUT, many of my customers’ ROOMS were not amenable to Maggies, so they sounded not good IN THEIR ROOMS.

SO, yes, they give the most realistic sound stage, etc., and NO, they do not shake the windows with over-driven distorted bass, which many crave, for a few minutes, anyway unless you are 17. Electrostats like Quads and KLH and RTR’s give listening fatigue after a very short time.

Here is the answer: Have your dealer set up the Maggies IN YOUR ROOM. IF you have super-high-quality hardware and source information, you will never go back. If this is not for you, buy what you like.

By the way, I have always wondered where all those box manufacturers got the BRILLIANT idea to make their speakers tall "all of a sudden". Funny how that happened, huh?

Cheers!

Disclosure: Speaker designer (planars too) and Manufacturer.

The OP's question is: Do larger planar speakers produce more accurate sound?

The challenge of answering the question is that "accurate sound" is not well defined. If he is asking about accuracy of the waveform produced by a planar transducer compared to the input signal, within the frequencies and amplitude the transducers are designed for and everything else being equal the answer is no. An argument can easily be made that smaller planar traducers are more "accurate". 

Most of what is being discussed here by others is about dispersion patterns, room interaction and other design choices. Furthermore, "planar" is not defined here. There are several types of planars. 

 

@arion I apologize for the lack of clarity. By "accurate", I meant realism. Sor the sake of simplicity, let's focus on electrostatics.  To generate the same SPL with smaller radiating surface, it would mean greater excursion of the membrane than with larger radiating surface. I would think that the requirement of greater excursion would mean loss of tension (over many years) in the membrane and less resolution. Unless membranes require large excursion to produce higher resolution.

richopp, I do not get listening fatigue from my Quads. Which makes me wonder what type of amplification you’re using. I’m driving my 2905’s with an ASR Emitter Exclusive and I get bored before getting any fatigue.