p.s. I plan to audition the new Sanders ESLs and Magnepan 3.7 and 20.7 in the next year or three. They are all local (within an hour or so drive). Those are currently the main contenders for replacing my ca. 1984 MG-IIIa's.
p.s. I plan to audition the new Sanders ESLs and Magnepan 3.7 and 20.7 in the next year or three. They are all local (within an hour or so drive). Those are currently the main contenders for replacing my ca. 1984 MG-IIIa's.
Could be. Not sure I have room for the 20's though that's always been my "dream" speaker. I was actually thinking about the new 10d. I am not really interested in the 11 -- prefer a larger panel and the cost is pretty close. I knew Roger ages ago but have also met a few of the Magnepan folk over the years (decades; none would remember me).
I have had several ESLs in my systems and listened to many more (including a number of your beloved Acoustats) but never owned a pair. Came close before getting my last Maggies... And a few years ago had prepared to buy either the Magnepan 20.1's or Sanders 10c, but Life smacked me down. As for now, I saved a bit and got a nice bonus, then the transmission went out in my son's car and after pouring $$$ into it the past few years we're going to have to get him another. He'll pay us back, eventually, but speakers are on hold again...
I have the advantage now of having a good pair of subs (Rythmik F12 servo design -- my last sub was also servo but one I designed and built myself) so it is likely I'll either have my IIIa's rebuilt or get a pair of 3.7i's as the best compromise among performance, size, and price; but I can always dream! I've always had a hankerin' for a pair of 'stats.
You should know by now that i'm not crazy about subs BUT the Magnepan MG-111a's are very good speakers no matter how old they are.
p.s. I plan to audition the new Sanders ESLs and Magnepan 3.7 and 20.7 in the next year or three. They are all local (within an hour or so drive). Those are currently the main contenders for replacing my ca. 1984 MG-IIIa's.
Thanks all for the info and links.
I have always found ESL's have better bass with a nice big SS amp and that thin bass was usually an issue of setup and room, at least for bass as low as the panels handle it. Real deep bass I have only heard from hybrids or a few very large ESLs (Soundlabs, stacked Acoustats, etc.) Speaker placement and room treatment for dipoles is a huge part of their sound and critical for optimizing performance. Heavy room treatment makes them less sensitive to placement but less "alive", and even extensive room treatment may not fix problems with deep (<100 Hz) bass.
I have stated before that generally speaking ESLs and tubes make for awesome mids but IME/IMO restricted bass and distorted treble. With the usual caveat that I have not used a tube amp in the price range most of you appear to use; an old ARC D-79 was my main amp for years.
For those that say bass is thin with solid state i wish you could hear Acoustat Spectra 8800s with the Plinius SA-250MK1V solid state amplifier then you would have to admit that YOU where wrong.
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