Anyone had experience with Final Sound Speakers?

[Ajani]

Last year I heard some Final Sound 400i Electrostats and was really impressed. I've been doing a bit of research on the brand since then and am just wondering if any of the resident planar experts own(ed) or have had experience with Final Sound Speakers.....

[E-Stat]

Last year I heard some Final Sound 400i Electrostats and was really impressed. I've been doing a bit of research on the brand since then and am just wondering if any of the resident planar experts own(ed) or have had experience with Final Sound Speakers.....

Sorry, I guess I'm the resident 'stat freak but have not heard that brand. I read a review in Tone Audio that compared them favorably with Quad and Acoustat, two brands with which I do have extensive experience.

rw

[Ajani]

Thanx for the reply E-Stat.

It's too bad you haven't heard them... I've seen a number of nice reviews for them... but since I have no Electrostat experience apart from them and one quick audition of some Martin Logan hybrids (really badly setup at the dealer and failed to impress me) I really don't know whether they compare with the highly rated stats like Quad....

And more importantly than even just sound.... whether they are reliable.... I've seen many brands get fantastic reviews by audio magazines and then get hammered in consumer feedback for 'technical difficulties'.... I've even had the misfortune of buying one such brand myself....

I guess I'll just have to be patient and keep researching the Final Sounds... As I really am intrigued by both the sound and the fact that they 'seem' to have solved some of the main hangups of stats:

1) Power Hungry - 50 watts at 4 ohms will drive the FS to really good volume levels.

2) Limited sweet spot - I actually stood up and walked around a bit during my audition of the FS and the sound was still good...

3) Really expensive - The pair I heard where just $3k and had IMHO acceptable bass even without a sub... (Though in fairness - my bass requirements are rather limited)...

[Florian]

They drain power amps empty, are slim and sexy. Good transparenty and resolution. Well,its a Stat afterall. But limited in dynamics, not as bad as some Quads but its not a Rockin speaker. Good value tough!

Cheers

Flo

[E-Stat]

Thanx for the reply E-Stat.

My pleasure.

1) Power Hungry - 50 watts at 4 ohms will drive the FS to really good volume levels... and had IMHO acceptable bass even without a sub... (Though in fairness - my bass requirements are rather limited)...

Well, their efficiency rating is no better than many, but having a 3db down point at 65 hz certainly helps to reduce their need for power. I'd like about 600 watts for mine.

rw

[nightflier]

Last time I was in the Netherlands, they were all the rage (the Dutch tend to be very proud of their own products), so when I was in Rotterdam and saw them in a store, I took a quick look. Although they are silver-sexy, thin, and see-through, it actually surprised me how heavy they were. And the pair that I saw was being driven by a monster power amp. Ironically the store also had tube amps, but that's not something you want to pair together.

Unfortunately, there was a lot of noise in the showroom and by the time I tilted the speaker, a heavy-set cheesehead decided we were not "the buying public" and wanted us out. We had kids with us and looked like Americans, so I suppose that was a fair assumption. Priced in the stratosphere, too - not sure if they are worth that.

[Nasir]

I bought the above mentioned demo equipment, and am happy to say that my expectations have been surpassed.
Even the layman can hear the difference with these marvels - they are clean, clear, detailed and directional. These are the remarks of the lucky few who have heard them in my sitting room, and they had not even been setup ( or properly placed, article to follow soon ) yet.
Spouse Acceptance Factor is very high indeed, for these are tall and thin speakers, matching very well the present trend of LCD and Plasma TVs. So, I got them past the wife for starters!
With the skeptics hovering around, I only connected the Right Final Sound 300i electrostatic speaker into my original system, leaving the Left Sony SS 500 LA ED box speaker in place for immediate comparison - a hush fell over the crowd. Within minutes the non audio enthusiasts had been converted to the world of planar speakers. The fore mentioned utterings began to flow freely and suddenly everyone was an audiophile with one common complaint: VERY EXPENSIVE SPEAKERS!!!!!! Well, I beg to differ!
With the whole new system in place, The National Geographic Channel unveiled the sonic signature of places my wife wants to visit when I win the lottery. Even the soap operas sound as if they have been worked over by our makeover experts. Series like CSI sound so convincing that only the smell of the body to be autopsied is missing to put you in that room. In other words, sounds that were not so obvious or hushed came through with amazing clarity.
Next, the resident guru spun music DVDs to appease the masses: Phil Collins´ concert easily identified the problem of using one subwoofer - these panel speakers crossover at 95 Hz, so my old Trevi subwoofer came to rescue as the second sub and the bass became enveloping instead of one sided.
Sitting in the sweet spot, the music is much louder than it is at the sides of the speakers, hence I can hear it loud without that many complaints from those not in the direct path. All this is due to the figure 8 radiation pattern of dipole speakers ( many an enlightening article available on the internet). More sound energy is beamed at the listener when compared to boxed speakers.
Lastly, the major problem seems to be how far from the back wall ( front wall to some ) is enough according the countless articles I have read on speaker placement. Early reflections, late ones too, not to mention floor and ceiling contributions. I´ll leave that adventure for a latter article.

[JoeE SP9]

Although I've commented on the other thread, I just had to say welcome to the world of ESL's. I started my planar experience with Magnaplanar MG-1's in 1976. I've been using ESL's since the early 1980's. I'll never have (monkey coffins) boxes in my main system.

[bubslewis]

[QUOTE=Nasir]I bought the above mentioned demo equipment, and am happy to say that my expectations have been surpassed.
Even the layman can hear the difference with these marvels - they are clean, clear, detailed and directional. These are the remarks of the lucky few who have heard them in my sitting room, and they had not even been setup ( or properly placed, article to follow soon ) yet.
Spouse Acceptance Factor is very high indeed, for these are tall and thin speakers, matching very well the present trend of LCD and Plasma TVs. So, I got them past the wife for starters!
With the skeptics hovering around, I only connected the Right Final Sound 300i electrostatic speaker into my original system, leaving the Left Sony SS 500 LA ED box speaker in place for immediate comparison - a hush fell over the crowd. Within minutes the non audio enthusiasts had been converted to the world of planar speakers. The fore mentioned utterings began to flow freely and suddenly everyone was an audiophile with one common complaint: VERY EXPENSIVE SPEAKERS!!!!!! Well, I beg to differ!
With the whole new system in place, The National Geographic Channel unveiled the sonic signature of places my wife wants to visit when I win the lottery. Even the soap operas sound as if they have been worked over by our makeover experts. Series like CSI sound so convincing that only the smell of the body to be autopsied is missing to put you in that room. In other words, sounds that were not so obvious or hushed came through with amazing clarity.
Next, the resident guru spun music DVDs to appease the masses: Phil Collins´ concert easily identified the problem of using one subwoofer - these panel speakers crossover at 95 Hz, so my old Trevi subwoofer came to rescue as the second sub and the bass became enveloping instead of one sided.
Sitting in the sweet spot, the music is much louder than it is at the sides of the speakers, hence I can hear it loud without that many complaints from those not in the direct path. All this is due to the figure 8 radiation pattern of dipole speakers ( many an enlightening article available on the internet). More sound energy is beamed at the listener when compared to boxed speakers.
Lastly, the major problem seems to be how far from the back wall ( front wall to some ) is enough according the countless articles I have read on speaker placement. Early reflections, late ones too, not to mention floor and ceiling contributions. I´ll leave that adventure for a latter article.[/QUOTE]

Nasir, that is one of the best descriptions of a speaker that I have seen. Not alot of technical jargon or statistics, but a very clear picture of what the speaker sounded like to you. Very well written sir.
ps. Sure would like to see a picture.

Bill

[Nasir]

Thank you very much for your encouraging remarks, Bill.
Pictures and specs from finalsound.com
Regret to inform that they are no longer in business, but the site is still working.
I am working on diffusing the back wave, and will post my setup pictures once I have got it almost right.

[RinMotion]

Reviving an old thread, I hope this is ok.

I have the opportunity to audition a set of F90i speakers and the S110 subwoofer. Here is a little bit of background to what I have encountered at the beginning of this journey.
I am now auditioning the used F90i speaker system but there are a few problems.

The speakers do not appear to have been well taken care of. Looks like they must have been exposed to quite a bit of UV or sun because all of the red connectors have faded to a very light pink colour. There are little scratches throughout the speakers and on one of the "right" side speakers (out of four), almost all of the left and right connectors have been snapped off so that it is almost impossible to connect speaker wires to it. The connectors have been snapped off to the point that there is basically no hole and no connectors at all.

In addition to the above, the other "right" side speaker does not work. I thought it might be the power connection but it worked on the left side speaker so I ruled that out as the problem. So that makes it, problems with both of the "right" side speakers. Since they are marked as left and right, I assume that they should be placed accordingly? I remember reading a review of one of the higher model Final Sound speakers and the reviewer said that it makes a difference if they were not placed accordingly. Could someone please confirm?

I have two different systems to try and connect the F90i speaker system (including the S110 subwoofer) to. I am new to audio so I would like to know what is the best way to connect the sub and speakers to the following two systems. Can I get a copy of the owner's manual to the speakers and/or the sub?:

1) Home Theatre: Denon AVR 2113

2) Audio 2 Channel: MacBook Air => Line Magnetic 201CA dac => Line Magnetic Mini 218IA.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.