Planars/ Electrostats benefits over box speakers?

"I'm not sure what music you listen to, But for me PHASE is laughable. Because all the vinyl I listen too was recorded back in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's do you think everything was recorded in the same phase?? It wasn't, I assure you! Phase means nothing, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it that's for sure."

There are different ways that a system can be in or out of phase. What you're talking about is absolute phase. The effect is usually small and very difficult to hear. Also, its worth noting that recordings are still not consistent when it comes to phase. The same thing is still going on today, and that's why you see so many preamps and sources with a phase invert switch.

Absolute phase is not the same as phase correct speakers, like my Vandersteens (Or the Thiel's that Cerrot and his friends destroyed). With phase correct speakers, all of the drivers move back and forth at the same time. The effect is much more audible. You can also have a situation where one speaker is out of phase with the other. (The entire speaker as a whole, and not just the drivers.). The effect is huge and is almost always due to someone connecting the speaker cables in error. If your speakers sound like Bose, this is probably why.

Box speakers are more accurate in the bass and highs.

When my system isn't knocking my sox off, I check the phase and sure enough, house keeper cleaned the buttons on the remote again. ts like a speaker is wired backwards (lol). Sucks the life out of the presentation.

07-05-15: Cerrot
When my system isn't knocking my sox off, I check the phase and sure enough, house keeper cleaned the buttons on the remote again. ts like a speaker is wired backwards (lol). Sucks the life out of the presentation.

Presumably the switch on your remote just affects absolute phase, aka polarity, which ZD correctly referred to just above. If changing that setting results in major changes as you described above, and not just on those few recordings which have been engineered with "purist" techniques (i.e., just two or three mics, and minimal post processing), then what is most likely occurring is that your preamp itself sounds different in the two settings.

Keep in mind that when you change that setting you are not only changing the polarity with which the recording is played back, you are also changing the circuit configuration within the preamp.

BTW, although I haven't read through a lot of this thread, I second all of the comments in ZD's most recent post. I would just add to it that for a speaker to be time and phase coherent (or simply time coherent, which automatically implies phase coherence as well), in addition to the drivers moving in the same direction at any given time the crossover (if there is one) has to be first order (i.e., 6 db/octave). Among box-type speakers which have a crossover, only those made by Vandersteen, Thiel, and Green Mountain Audio, and perhaps a small handful of others, meet those criteria.

Regards,
-- Al

Crossovers have a sound, and can degrade the music no matter how complex or simple, crossovers kill.

Also, multi driver systems always seem to sound like multi drivers to my ears.

I have listened to a few cone speakers that came close to stats, such as Verity Audio, and the Sonus Faber Stradivari.

Also the old Tannoys had a similar coherent point source sound, but the price was not as fast or clear as a stat.

I used to have Vandersteen 2ci way back and a pair of Quad 63 I used to switch between.

The Quads were better, but not by a great margin.

The Vandersteen five that I heard were very good with much better bass than any stat in my experience, except for a pair of Ultimate One Soundlabs that I've also had the pleasure of listening to at an audiophiles home.

It was a different kind of bass, but very full none the less.

The Soundlabs were the best stats I've heard and one of the best speakers I've heard.