Small room electrostat/ planar speaker?


In about 30 days will be moving to a new home where its going to be hard to make my 1.7 maggies work in a spouse friendly way ( the only large room is the main living room). I've always gravitated to planars and electrostatics, box speakers that don't sound colored or slow usually cost more than my entire system. Where I'd like to end up is a system that's extremely resolving at low to moderate volume levels, my main dissatisfaction with my current Mg 1.7 speakers and Prima Luna amp is that it really doesn't come to life until the volume is moderate listening levels or higher.

I'm wondering if anyone has seen something that approaches the coherency and speed of the 1.7s that would work in an 11x12 listening room? I'd like to keep the cost limited to $4k if possible.
128x128davide256
Years ago, I A-B'd the Magnepans and Quad ESLs with the Acoustat Monitor 3's. The Mags were unquestionably the best sound, excluding low bass and the fact that they have no dispersion at all, so I was forced to sit in exactly one place without moving to enjoy my music. The Quads were the best compromise, but again the bass was lacking. The whole point of a planar is defeated once you add a subwoofer, hence a crossover, which is why every time I go back to A-B my Acoustats against Martin Logans or equivalent, the ML's just don't reproduce correctly. Any planar with a crossover is doomed to fail, from what my ears tell me.

My ex hated the look of the Acoustats, even though they can be easily modified (modernized) with different end-caps and grill cloth, but their positive characteristics are unmatched by any other planar I've listened to between $2K-$20K):
- Their dispersion is about equal to a box speaker (yes, sometimes I have to leave my man-cave for the kitchen or bathroom or office while music is playing)
- Clean bass down to 16Hz (amazing bass transients I haven't heard from any other planar) - single point source from a legit 16Hz- 38mHz - beautiful!
- Can be placed in any size room and at any volume, they sound great, the most forgiving planars I've ever listened to (and yes, I'm extremely biased in favor of planars over boxes)
- Sound almost as good as the Quads across all music types
- Indestructible - through many moves over the years, cannot be killed.
- Sure, they suck up enormous power, but my Brystons do just fine (amp/pre-amp undr $10K or less if used), sound as good with these speakers as the big Conrad Johnsons
- Can pick up a used pair for between $1.2K-2K. I can't imagine why anyone would ever sell their pair, however, except for the perceived ugliness (yeah, they look like the 70s, but that can be fixed with a makeover).
I have the perfect speaker for you :)

Eminent Technology LFT 16
Many reviews to check out.
http://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/eminent-technology-lft-16-loudspeaker

I have the Primaluna Dialogue Prem Int and use the bigger brother LFT 8’s and it sounds unbelievable.
I listen at lower to med levels also.

Great minds think alike, aniwolfe. Take a look back at my 4-19 post. I also have the larger LFT-8b, a ridiculously under-owned design that completely clobbers the Maggie MG1.7. Some prefer the LFT-8 to even the 3.7, which sells for more than twice as much. But for anyone with a room too small for the 8b (or the 1.7), the 16a is the speaker to get. Not many Eminent Technology dealers though, which is a shame.

The most brilliant sub-woofer ever designed is Bruce Thigpen’s Rotary, which I would dearly love to own. The man may be a genius; if not, at least one of the greatest creative minds in the entire history of Hi-Fi. And barely talked about! J. Peter Moncrieff’s IAR review of the Rotary Woofer is, as usual, a chore to read through, but worth the effort. Pure brilliance, I tells ya!

Rocktown---While almost always true, their actually IS one way to subwoof a dipole loudspeaker successfully---with a dipole subwoofer! Gradient made one for the QUAD 63, and there is now one available for all planars. In fact, for all speakers in general. It is the product of a joint effort between Brian Ding of Rythmik Audio and Danny Richie of GR Research. It, like the Gradient, and also like the woofer section of the Linkwitz LX521, uses a pair of dynamic woofers mounted on an open-baffle H- or W-frame, commonly facing in opposite directions, though they don't have to be. The driver/baffle arrangement allows the woofer to have the same dipole radiation characteristics as planar speakers, with a null to either side. The woofers therefore don't "load" and pressurize the room the way sealed and ported subs do, sounding as lean and clean as do dipole speakers. The open-baffle design also prevents the woofers from having a resonant box to clutter up their sound---no bloat, no boom. The Rythmik/GR Research Sub also has Brian Ding's Direct Servo-Feedback system (found in all the Rythmik subs) keeping the woofers under tight control. A VERY special subwoofer!