On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 21:54:59 GMT, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:


"Dodge McRodgered" wrote in message
.. .
"Alex" emitted :

For those audiophiles who'd like to own a Quad 988 but lack the budget,
or the room, or both, which of the non-ES speakers come closest to that
magical electrostatic sound? [Answers from friends have ranged from
well known current brands (Dynaudio) to discontinued models I didn't
know about (DCM Time Window).]

For a box speaker, Yamaha NS1000 perhaps??

**Nope.

Agreed. A classic in its own right, but absolutely *nothing* like a
Quad! Almost diametrically opposite in strengths and weaknesses, in
fact.

IME a big part of the ESL sound is in the soundstaging. Nothing but a
planer sounds quite like a planer.

**Not IMO. The big reason why ESLs sound like ESLs, IMO, is the coherent
nature of a single, full range driver and the lack of cabinet diffraction
problems.

More importantly, it's a dipole.

Very few manufacturers have managed to get moving coil driver
systems to deliver a coherent wave-front. Dunlavy did, with the Crown Prince
(but not the Sovereign). I heard them in the same room (within minutes) as a
pair of Martin Logan CLS and the comparison was surprisingly close. Except
for the bass, reliability, maximum SPL capacity, etc, etc. Dunlavy paid VERY
careful attention to the crossover and cabinet diffraction effects. The
result was a very ESL-like speaker system. With bass.

Whilst I have not done direct ESL comparisons, I reckon the B&W 802 Nautilus
probably comes mighty close too.

Nope, just about as far from a good planar as it gets. Great speaker,
but *totally* different sound.

--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering