QUAD vs Martin Logan vs Magnepan

i have listened to all three speakers. the all ribbon magnepan are not at all lacking in the treble! perod. if you don't have the right amp, the magnepan will bleed your ears. the best quad ever made wa the 57. forget about the current quads. get a sound lab if you want a full range electrostatic speaker.

the magnepan 20.1 needs serious amplification and watch that spectral balance.

i still think that even with its limited bass response and dynamic range, the quad 57 is an ideal speaker.

if you want more mid bass, buy 4 of them. i owned 4 quad 57 for 7 years.

The previous responses all seem to be well on target.

I've only heard a demo of the Quads. Impressive, yes, but like all large panels they have a very narrow sweet spot. Take that into consideration. It's a law of physics that when the wavelength is equal to or smaller than the size of the source the dispersion decrease accordingly and interference patterns are created.

I have auditioned three of the ML models and the Maggie 1.6. The 1.6 is an incredible value. Although I didn't buy them because of the large panel issues already mentioned.

My favorite of the MLs is the Clarity. It surprised me too. I was expecting to salivate over the Summit. Didn't happen. Only months later did I come to the conclusion that it may have been the smaller panel on the Clarity—less beaming and combing. And most disappointing, all the MLs demonstrated the same weakness; the bass isn't very well resolved. It's not bad, but for the money, ML should get the bass tightened up.

What ever you do, here's the best advise I've ever been given; Before you spend your money, audition, audition, audition.

How about the more esoteric Audiostatic DCM5? Too bad the company has no US distributor. I bet they are a match or better than any of the above with competitive pricing and the most beautiful.

i have heard audiostatic models years ago. I found the bass disappointing and the panel distorted fairly easily.

Mrtennis,which model did you listen to? I've heard the older models and found them to be anemic. The DCM5 were launched a couple of years ago. Supposedly it addresses the timid bass and difficult drive, and plays more loudly due to it's 8mm total diaphragm travel (I'm not sure if I can believe this in an electrostat). I spoke to an owner in Europe who thinks the DCM5's transparency is unsurpased and feels it bests the Martin Logans with their flatulent bass. But with full range stats you'll never get the loud dynamics of cone or horn speakers. Maybe the big Soundlabs come close, but they are unruly huge and fugly to boot IMO.