Looking for a good system for my apartment. Any advise?

goofyfoot587 posts11-28-2020 2:43pm

I have to disagree with purchasing Magnipan or any other electrostatic speaker. I own Quad 2905's and while they sound great, I've had to replace a good number of panels due to a mistake which caused arcing ...

Magnapans are not electrostatic speakers.

cleeds, you’re correct, however I was referring to the Mylar panels. As far as I know, all Mylar paneled speakers are subject to the same problems.

I've owned 3 pairs of those Quads for a dozen years, and only one panel has failed. Also a HV transformer. They sound great in the stereo room and unbelievable as HT center channel. 

Magnepans sound very fine too - but different. And they're a whole lot cheaper and a whole lot more robust. Magnepans do not have a HV supply, and so arcing is NOT a possibility. But it's a good idea to keep them out of the sun or the cement which holds the mylar to the frame will deteriorate.

How loud do you listen to music? I listen to classical mostly, but it is LOUD (a Shostakovich symphony has mega decibels at the climaxes).

If you are limited to how loud you can listen, because of being in an apartment, or you just don't like lifelike volumes of sound, I would recommend a pair of dipole planar speakers. Magnepans, or similar. They can be made, for not very much money, if you are handy that way. Very lifelike presentation, quick, low distortion. If you occasionally want mega bass, add a subwoofer or two, start with inexpensive models.

After you have speakers that work for you, get the least expensive turntable and amp. My personal faves for absolute best bang for buck, is an original NAD 3020 Series 20 (in excellent shape - meaning someone has gone over the solder joints and recapped and fixed any problems with the controls being problematic) and a Technics SL-D2. The NAD can drive most speakers, even planars and Linn Isobariks, and the Technics is rock solid and seems to last forever.

My two cents. Good luck! So much good vintage and new affordable gear out there

Quad makes an affordable tube integrated amp.