Kingsound King Speakers Huge ESLs

Having just written the review and as an owner I made it a point to hear them. Not speaking to the attendant components, the set up left much to be desired. The speaker is capable of astounding sound, but at least four or five important advantages to establishing the King for ultimate performance were not implemented. They appeared to have been quickly plopped into the room, and as such were heard at their worst, not their best. Consequently, they sounded good, but a far cry from their best.

Frankly, they were set up poorly at CES as well. I'm just glad I was able to distinguish the poor conditions from the speaker and get them into my room! I will comment more in my show report.

Did anybody hear these at RMAF?

yep... the pic said something else to me... 4ft? That's a deal breaker for me.

I agree too that big amps make a world of difference if for no other reason than the control they exude on the drivers. Until I got into tubes recently, I felt the deal was 86-88db speakers with five or six hundred watt amp (s). Definitely nothing under 250.

Then there was tubes... and uh, the 'room', 4-6 more channels, and yada yada... then back to 5.1 again.

I'd be more than curious to see how the Butler TDB 2250 fared with those Kings. the influence of tubes, but speed of SS, and there's that control factor. My TDB 5150 in 2ch mode (only the Sonatas being connected) comes close to 250wpc and sounds like it, yet outputs only a buck and a half into 8, all ch driven. So I use it as a 3 ch amp in HT for the fronts & center.

Zu has my attention now but again, the room issue surfaces as the "Presence" is interesting. Adversely, so is the Quattro wood.

John, thanks, it seems that we're in great times for development of the ESL technology. No more burnt holes in Mylar, etc. :)

I was chatting with Albert Porter about ESLs and he offered a litany of technological issues associated with some earlier models (not Kingsound). It sounded like they were down for repairs way too often for my patience level.

You might consider the Queen, third down from the top end, and quite reasonable footprint, etc. I like the modular approach, where one can divide the modules if so desired. I think that's great creativity on Kingsound's part. I don't even recall if the Queen was set up at the show; I was fixated on demoing the King and Prince II. If I'm not mistaken the Queen has been upgraded at some point as well.

Hi Douglas,
Boy I've been eyeballing those speakers for quite a while now. Huge planar/electrostat fan here and though my room wouldn't work with that big of a planar I'd still love to see/hear those babies! To me they seem to be an exceptional value considering todays prices. I've read your review several times since you published it and I enjoyed it immensely, thank you.

Well I just wanted to pop in and say hi as I saw your thread title and that got my attention quickly, I really dig those speakers! Take care and please keep us posted on any changes you make, should make for interesting reading.

Sincerely,
John

Very kind words; thank you! While I'm still young enough and strong enough I'm a huge speaker fan! When I'm old and can't hack hauling them up and down steps, I'll probably turn into a monitor lover. ;)

It's not visible in all pics of the room, but I have placed sound panels on the head wall at right angles. The speakers are about 4' from the front wall (I have precise measurements for the footers, but this is a generalization), as the pic may be a bit deceptive looking. I did so to accommodate larger planars especially. I was disturbed by the head wall reflection, and I wanted it to be diminished greatly. That, along with plenty of diffusion/absorption has allowed for sizable speakers, both dynamic and planar, to be used well in the room.

Also, the construction of the room is a huge factor. I have a double ceiling (seamless solid ceiling underneath drop ceiling), 7.5" thick walls, thick Berber carpet with 1/2" underlay over cement, so the room can handle larger speakers quite easily.

I tend toward big power, so someone else's 200wpc seems small to me. 300 is a good staring point for most of my floor standing speaker systems. Of course, when I'm working with tubes I have to adjust, but SS I'm pushing for minimum 250wpc. I really enjoy what 500-1,000 watts does for speakers. In some ways a person has not really heard a speaker until they've heard it with that kind of power. It's very addictive.

The Pathos Classic One MKIII's in bridged mode are superb with the Kings. I was surprised how well they handle the speakers, "with authority" as they say.

The Prince II will also be showing at RMAF, so if you're going you can check them out. I know it's a bit smaller, a bit less expensive, and maybe even a bit more efficient.
I know one thing, it would be a radically different experience from your Silverlines!

Thanks Doug.

I read the review. 170wpc amp? Not enough huh?

I also noticed your room size and my own are similar, I'm a tad wider, and a few ft. shorter and also use the short wall. I believe I'll remain in the 'thick' camp as 'Thin' speakers I've heard do not have the impact I feel I enjoy.

...but who knows... maybe I'll eventually get a Wolcott... and then maybe...

The intriguing part of it all I thought was how little space you have used off the front wall... as I've seen every Thin speaker eating up a lot of geography when well set. So that part of your essay did get me. I feel my next major step will be another set of speakers too, but don't want to also add/replace amps just yet if at all.

Thanks for the info on the new product and your good fortune.