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Are planar speakers less prone to room interaction

Ok, here's my situation: my listening room is nigh untreatable, due to room issues and wife factors. The room itself is 30' x 15', with windows on one side and it opens up into the kitchen halfway down the other wall. The back wall partially lofts into a 18' x 15' bedroom. The ceilling is 14' high.

Just due to volume and the insanely varied surfaces and general asymmetry of the room, I'm not sure what I can do to contain the room interactions that I have to deal with. I have some home-built acoustic panels high up in the adjoining kitchen to contain the standing waves that would develop there, and that helped but I'm not sure the wife will let me put up any more of the things.

My question: are planar speakers less prone to room interaction? It seems like they would be, simply due to the dispersion pattern. I've always coveted Martin Logans (and used to own and love a pair of Maggies) so I'm certainly open to the idea.

Second question: how do electrostats do in large rooms?
hudsonhawk
audiokinesis
2,737 posts
 
Hudsonhawk, Maggies and Martin Logans are definitely competitors. If you read a lot of online comments, you'll find that people pretty much agree on what the tonal balance of Maggies is whether they like them or not, but then you'll find a diversity of opinion on what the tonal balance of Martin Logans is. I think the reason for this can be traced back to the Martin Logans radiating as a point source at low frequencies and as a line source at midrange and high frequencies.

Used Maggie 1.6's should work well in your room, assuming you have a fairly powerful amplifier.

Duke
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
save your pennies. martin logan is producing a full range electrostat, the clx. yes it will exceed your budget, significantly. it will not have the disadvantages of a hybrid electrostatic speaker. it will, unfortunately, set you back around $8000.
csmgolf
887 posts
 
I don't know what your budget is but a used pair of Legacy Whispers would fit the bill nicely. They have a compound dipole bass alignment provided by four 15" woofers per side. They have a dispersion of <90 degrees at all frequencies which would meet the directivity requirement that Duke mentions above. They are designed to NOT interact with the room and having owned a pair I have to agree. Even though I have a pair listed on Audiogon right now, they have been sold so I am not trying to sell mine here. If I had a large enough room to set them up in in my new house I would keep them without a doubt. They are an incredibly enjoyable speaker system. Just my 2 cents worth and I hope this helps.
ngjockey
1,042 posts
 
Good responses so far. Line sources are not immune to side wall reflections but seem more forgiving than typical point sources. All I can add is that line arrays (Selah, Pipedreams) have a similar radiation pattern to panels and that there are also line source/hybrid monopoles (Newform Research, Wisdom, VMPS) which may suit your requirements.
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
A nearfield listening position will also minimize room interaction, although it takes some getting used to.

Then again, there's always headphones...
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