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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
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,860 posts
 

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!

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,860 posts
 
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!
randy-11
1,913 posts
 
DWMs are dipole subs... or "subs"
rebbi
1,326 posts
 
What @joseph796 said! Spatial M4 Turbo S would sound great in that room. 👍👍
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,520 posts
 
I run Martin-Logans Electromotion ESLs in a small room with 25 watt Quicksilver tube amps. The ESLs do not have to be pulled out as far as Maggies do. I have mine in a cross corner location and the bass is amazing and the little amps drive the speaker quite well. You may want to try the new ESL-X it should be better than mine and there is nothing wrong with my set-up. Low volume listening is also as good as it gets. 
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