Electrostat Speakers with sub. Finally


I have a pair of acoustat model 3s and i love them. yes, the bass is somewhat weak as goes the common notion. but during my visit to optimal enchantment (see recent thread) to audition preamps the owner Randy suggested checking out the vandersteen 2wq sub ($1,300) which has it's own 300watt amp and these funky little extra crossovers that simply connect to the ends of your rca interconnects running from your pre into your amp. (he swears this is the best way to cross over). Well. WOW. this is what i've been looking for. at first i was playing some whimpy music and thought, i been robbed! i couldn't hear the sub at all (which is the point - that is until you need it). then as i started listening to different music, mainly some coltrane with lots of Paul Chambers freaking out, the bass came alive adn the whole midrange of the speaker opened up with clarity and detail and of course, the bass was slamming. did some hunting around on audioasylum after the fact just to verify and found people getting similar results.
worth a listen
kublakhan
always glad to hear about someone else moving closer to "the absolute sound." this is what it's all about, isn't it? may your joy continue. you work hard at it, clearly have fun and are worthy of applause. bravo, kublakhan! -kelly
Kubla,

That's a nice set up and is hard to beat even by today's standards. I used to own tube, servo-amped Acoustat IIIs and used an Audio Pro B250 subwoofer to augment the low bass and it worked quite well. I also had the opportunity to audition the Vandersteen sub with the passive crossover you mention -- hooked up to a pair of Magnepan MG-12s and that combination was really quite impressive too. Enjoy!
Good for you, Kubla! I never got to partner my tube active electrostats with a sub -- before I had to sell them. You succeded where I failed.

Best wishes for enjoyment, from afar!
I'm using Acoustat 8's with a Velodyne ULD 15 MK II, and am getting results like you described; mids and highs to die for and plenty of bass slam. Long live electrostats!