Thanks to the Staff at Audioreview.com for this section!

[Florian]

Thanks to the Staff at Audioreview.com for this section! I will it with lots of information about all types of planar and ribbon speakers. I hope that many will join in and write about their planar systems and their experiences as well.

Thanks

Flo

[JohnMichael]

Years ago my local dealer sold Apogees. He had a pair in his home and to get a good price he sold a few pairs in the store. I do not remember the model but he had them powered by Meitner power amps in the store. Incredible sound and I still remember the cd they were playing when I first heard them. It was Barbara Streisand's first Album of Broadway songs. Wish I would have had the money and the space to purchase them at the time. Later they carried the Innersound electrostatics and they were also excellent. The first time I heard an SACD was through the Innersounds and was impressed both with the sacd and the speakers. I have heard other planars that I have not liked as much but done right they make magic.

[Florian]

Yes they surely are! Stick around, a new section with pictures and placement setup is just around the corner.

-Flo

[twochannelsonly]

I think this section is cool. One you go planer with the right EQ, I just cant see anyone going back.
I personaly will never own any BOX speaker except for the old discontinued JBL big boppers the 4432's

[JoeE SP9]

I have owned planers of one type or another since the late seventies. I 1978 I bought a pair of Magnepan MG1's. The buddie I sold them to in 1981 still uses them for his primary speakers. I have since owned nothing but planers. I have convinced several other audiophiles to switch to planers merely by having them come over and listen to my rig. An added and always novel pleasure is the average person asking "Where did you get those room dividers?" until I turn them on. I also once had a pizza delivery guy ask "Who was jamming?" when I opened the door.

[E-Stat]

I hope that many will join in and write about their planar systems and their experiences as well.

My response is almost identical to JoeE SP9s. I remember vividly the first time I heard a pair of Tympani 1-Us driven by ARC gear back in '75 or so. I purchased a pair of MG-IIs in '76 and moved to electrostats in '77 with Acoustat Xs. I used various Acoustat models until earlier this year when I moved to Sound Labs U-1s. I cannot be more pleased with their sound.

rw

[hermanv]

The secret reason Sound Lab speakers sound as good as they do is not well guarded, (mainly, no cones for either bass or treble) panels all the way.

The two closely guarded secrets are:
1. How do you get your hands on enough money to afford a Sound Labs model?
2. How do you get your hands on enough money to afford a house large enough for a Sound Labs model to function at its best?

We don't even need to talk about the money for support electronics required for best Sound Labs performance.

[E-Stat]

The secret reason Sound Lab speakers sound as good as they do is not well guarded, (mainly, no cones for either bass or treble) panels all the way.

The two closely guarded secrets are:
1. How do you get your hands on enough money to afford a Sound Labs model?
2. How do you get your hands on enough money to afford a house large enough for a Sound Labs model to function at its best?

We don't even need to talk about the money for support electronics required for best Sound Labs performance.

I was lucky by finding a used pair that was completely refurbished and shipped directly to me by the factory. There were new cores and backplates including the "Hot Rod" wiring option. It was a significant cost savings to buy a pair with used frames!

Similarly, I have a large dedicated room downstairs for them that is WAF free (this room and the garage are mine - the rest is hers!). That allows me to use six foot tall bass traps distributed around the room along with a pair of Argent style room lenses. Actually, the U-1s are somewhat shorter than the Acoustat 2+2s they replaced. When we built the house, I told the builder I must have an eight foot ceiling for the 94" tall speakers. Well, the subcontractor screwed up by about four inches. They had to put in a trayed section to fit them.

On the other hand, if I had the new "Majestics", I would need to build a new room as they are nearly nine feet tall!

http://www.soundlabowners.com/forum/messages/5384.html

rw

[hermanv]

It's not that I can't complain (we'll actually I am quite capable, but really shouldn't) .

I own a pair of Martin Logan ReQuests, which have rarely been called compact speakers. I do manage to make them work in a small room, it took a lot of home made absorbers and difffusers to do it.

Similarly, I own enough electronics to finance the cost of a new mid priced car, so I am hardly one to protest the expense of the hobby, but I do lust after the larger Sound Labs models and a nice pair of tube monoblocks to drive them - sigh.

[E-Stat]

I own a pair of Martin Logan ReQuests, which have rarely been called compact speakers. I do manage to make them work in a small room, it took a lot of home made absorbers and difffusers to do it.

Hey, MLs are nothing to sneeze at. I remember first hearing a pair of CLSes some years back.

Similarly, I own enough electronics to finance the cost of a new mid priced car, so I am hardly one to protest the expense of the hobby, but I do lust after the larger Sound Labs models and a nice pair of tube monoblocks to drive them - sigh.

While I believe I have truly found my last pair of speakers, I find myself spending more time recently listening to my vintage garage system. Don't laugh, but I'm talking Double New Advents nicely driven by a Pioneer PD-54 through DIY attenuators via JPS Labs Ultraconductors and DH Labs T-14 speaker wires to a Threshold Stasis 3 amp with a JPS Labs AC+ power cord. While those Advents are hardly the last word in speakers, I am amazed at how loudly they play with only a couple of watts (where the Stasis runs cascode class A ) and how well they do in low level resolution with that front end. With both systems I find myself listening to lower measured, yet seemingly louder levels than before. After thirty some years at this hobby, I find that the last frontier is to be found in the bottom of the dynamic scale where details are rendered very clearly and are appreciated at a hearing friendly level.

I write this in the lobby of a nice hotel in Puerto Rico (wife has a medical meeting gig here) where the wi-fi is found getting my ears assaulted by a band using decidedly lo-rez sound reinforcement gear. Ouch!!!! The hard as nails cymbals just scratched my eardrums.

rw

[Florian]

I guess we can summ it all up by saying: "Once you go planar there is no going back"
Doesnt matter if you go with Soundlab, Apogee, Martin Logan or Acoustat"....there is only one thing better then surface area and that is more surface area.

[E-Stat]

....there is only one thing better then surface area and that is more surface area.

How about these for surface area?

Pro Stats

rw

[Florian]

I have seen those before on pictures :-) One hell of a speaker. Check out the Perigee Definitve in my gallery too.

Say can you please make the "Pictures of planar speakers" a sticky?

Thanks

Flo