'planar' vs. 'boxes'

Excellent answer by Michiel, you should read it twice slowly. Objections to planars are the lack of bass and the size of the image, perhaps you like a guitar that's nine feet wide, but it's not very realistic. From planars, this listener has switched entirely to point source dome tweeters and mids, the computer-designed speaker revolution begun in the mid 80's has paid off fifteen years later in some absolutely stunningly transparent designs, while planars have fallen far behind. As Michiel said, "Listen for yourself".

If you want a no risk hands-on experience with planars order the little $500.00 mail order Magnepan MMG's. You get to try them for 60 days. I used to build box speakers as a hobby but now own full range electrostats (SoundLabs). Planars have a much easier to deal with radiation pattern. You see, if the direct sound and the reveberant field have a different tonal balance, you eventually get listener's fatigue (headache). Conventional 2-ways, for example, have omni dispersion in the bass, narrowing considerably in the midrange as we approach the crossover point due to woofer beaming. Then hemispherical on the tweeter's side of the crossover point, progressively narrowing with increasing frequency as tweeter beaming sets in. In this case the reveberant field cannot possibly have the same tonal balance as the direct sound, no matter what your room treatment or equalization. With a planar, you have a figure-8 pattern in the bass and (depending on type) either severe beaming treble beaming (flat panel), essentially spherical treble dispersion (narrow ribbon tweeter) or figure-8 dispersion all the way up (curved panel). So avoid a flat panel sans ribbon tweet - i.e. old Acoustats. Since high frequencies are much easier to absorb than low ones, some foam behind a narrow, ribbon-type tweet speaker (Magneplanars) can correct the tonal balance in the reverberant field, if needed. Curved electrostats (Martin-Logan, SoundLab) are the best approximations. Line source approximations give a wider "sweet spot" than point source approximations, and planars are inherently line source approximations (as are big Genesis panels and Pipedreams). Okay so much for theory. Order the baby Maggies, they may sound a little harsh at first but let them break in (48 hours playing time), give them a touch of bass on the tone control (if you have one), and you will know for yourself.

Someone who is considering the purchase of a planer speaker, but who may have problems trying to drive them with their amplifier, they may want to consider auditioning a pair of Vandersteen 2ce's, or even 1C's. Thes speakers offer the tranparency of a panel, with the easy to drive load to the amplifier. Try NHT too if you want to try another excellent dynamic design.(2.8's or 3.3's)

Having spent 5+ years with Apogee ribbons, I have become intimate with their sound. When I listen to dynamic drivers--even extremely good ones like Wilson or Thiel--I feel a bit let down. Not let down by the dynamics of the sound--admittedly these are far more dynamic than most planars, instead, I am let down by the midrange. It doesn't matter what kind of music you listen to, they all have their foundation in the midrange. No type of speaker, in general, beats a planar. Trust your ears. See what other speakers are missing!

I've had some experience with both dynamic and planar speakers (Vandersteens 2CE, Alons II vs Quad ESL and my recently purchased Maggie 3.6) I tell folks that once you have listened to planars, it is difficult to go back to boxes, no matter how good or how expensive. The music is 90% midrange and planars tend to do midrange better in my opinion. I agree with the other writers that planars are difficult to set up and can be difficult to drive. The bass tends to be of a different quality that I find pleasing, tighter and less boomy with good pitch definition. Treble seems more musical with the absence of tizz found in many dome tweeters. My main objection to planars is simply that they can visually dominate your listening area (my only reason for selling my Quads). In short, I highly recommend that you listen to a variety of speakers in your price range. I bought my Maggies because they were the only speakers that never failed to make me smile. Thanks, Rich M. at [email protected]