Beveridge speakers-does anyone still use them?

To add to Viridian's post:
Beveridges don't appear all that often on the used market, although they can be found. I would characterize the sound of the original model 2 as very polite, which the 2SW family exhibits to a lesser degree, however integration of the subs with the stats can be tricky. The model 3 isn't in the same performance category as either, in my opinion. Harold Beveridge's son started up the company again a few years ago in northern California; he moved down to the Santa Barbara area a few months ago, to a location to be determined. Haven't heard anything since.

Dayton Wrights come up for sale once in a while, too, though the SF6 gas (sulfur hexafluoride) may be hard to come by, and the piezo tweeters may prove to be tough to take. Years ago I used Watson Labs Model Ten loudspeakers, designed and built by Mike Wright of Dayton Wright fame, which used bags filled with SF6 in the separate woofer enclosures. Dayton Wrights are quite large, and the transformer system which couldn't be used in a commercial product today due to its lethal voltages is a beast. Given enough power, the more the better, they can be very good although a bit dry sounding, and you may be on your own if something goes wrong.

I agree with the point about Acoustats and Audiostatics possibly being less finicky, although Audiostatic hasn't been represented in the US for several years, and based upon personal experience as well as comments from others, I don't have anything to say about Ben Peters of Audiostatic. Acoustat has a loyal following, and Jim Strickland is still around. With the Medallion transformers or used with the direct drive amps, they can be satisfying, though based upon experience owning 2+2s and in my biased opinion they don't equal the performance of some current ESLs.

Brian

My wife is now days beyond her due date without being in labor. This is hard to take. Thanks for all the posts. Bob

Hey Bob. You a dad yet? Interesting observations on the various electrostatic speakers. I have not seen nor heard the beveridge's in years but if memory serves I would concurr with Brian's "polite" sounding labell.I Still use a pair of servo-driven acoustat 3's as well as a pair of Dayton wright xg-8 mk3's in a rather large room in a second system and recently sold my 2+2's.Have used stacked Quad 57's,63's,stacked Dayton Wrights and a pair of soundlab A-1's in the past. Never really connected with any of the audiostatics or Martin Login's though. One's room size, power/current requirements as well as ones preference of music genre will certainly dictate your choice of speaker here. The sound labs and the dayton wrights will need to be interfaced with either very high powered tube amplifiers or high current solid state amps of equal pedigree to get the best out of them. The Dayton Wright's and soundlabs have a very similiar sonic signature, being very full range,very coherent from top to bottom and are extremely well focussed. The soundlabs have the more articulate and airer top end while the Wright's have more resolution and wallop on the bottom octaves. The wrights will also play at much higher sound pressure levels given the appropriate amplification.Given the propagation pattern of most planar types, electrostatic speakers need ample breathing room and need to be placed as far away from the room boundries as possible... the farther the better. Rumour has it that Janssen are now introducing another electrostatic to the marketplace.

Unbelievable but I am not a dad yet. My poor wife is now 5 days past her due date. They say that they will induce next friday now if she does't give birth. Thanks for all the interesting posts of these venerable speakers. I have been using Apogee Scintillas which are another legendary speaker. They have such good resolution that it is hard to imagine them being bettered although some with electrostatics claim it so. What I love about them is that they get the midrange right and have the power in the bass that most electrostats can only dream about. I haven't heard Brian's U-1's yet so that may change my entire audio landscape. I have used the esl-57's and have always loved their naturalness. I also have used the Acoustat 3 which was my first taste of high end. Another contemporary speaker that I would love to hear is the MBL 101e. The problem with this hobby is that one can only have so much equipment! Thanks again Bob

Amazing speakers! I have, however, encountered older Beveridge speakers with deteriorated panels so be very careful if you're shopping for a used pair. I think you can obtain new panels from Harold Beveridge's son but the cost might be staggering. Nothing creates a sound field comparable to the Beveridge.
Sound Labs would be my pick among the other ESLs but be aware that most require a very robust amp. The Innersound is good but my understanding is that venture capital squeezed out the the founder/designer so that would make me cautious. Aside from Quads all the rest have issues I would just as soon avoid.