Do old Acoustats compete with new 'stats or dynamics

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Sure is hard to beat the speed of an electrostatic isn’t it?

While I’d love to find a pair of 2+2’s I would think by now time has taken it’s toll on the circuitry, which IIRC was subject to some pretty high voltages. Hope those with real-world, recent experiece will chime in & prove me wrong.

Interesting Q

Geez, over 20 years ago I owned 2 + 2s with both modified Servo amps and SS interfaces with Medallion transformers. These were magical, but whether they still stack up today is... ???

As to upgrades there is at least one guy whose mods are said to stabilize the servos. Don't recall his name


I also owned Magnepan 3.5Rs (also open baffle) but never could get the magic, even biamped.


A couple years ago I bought Emerald Physics KC IIs with Clarity cap and WireWorld XO upgrades, They have the openness of the both, are very efficient, AND are only 44" tall


hth

The X's were very...polite loudspeakers. The cabinets resonated and the Masonite back was worse than silly. We all tossed them. The + series was the big breakthrough 2+2, 3+3 and 4+4. I wish I had 3+3's but very few of them were made. Right now I have 2+2s and an ornate subwoofer system crossed over at 125 Hz. IMHO the only speakers that are better are the line source Sound Labs. I am chomping on the bit to get a set of Ultimate 845s. If you can get a set of clean 2+2s and can afford to add subs you will be seriously pleased. Taken care of Acoustats are immortal.
Unfortunately they became very inexpensive and most of them were mutilated by experimentation. The panels outside of their frames can be easily cracked if mishandled. Never buy loose Acoustat panels. The vast majority of them are damaged.  

Hi Pix4work

I have custom build Acoustat Model 3's with granite bases. See my virtual system. Their only drawback is when you stand up as they are not tall.

The simpler build Model 3's outperformed my more complex Acoustat Spectra 33's. As good as the Model 3 sound, my Quad 57's make the Acoustat sound..... artificial. Everything sounds like - at the microphone - with the 57's. They are Wayne Piquet rebuilds.

I have just posted on my virtual system about my DM70c - B&W Electrostatics revival. They are special. An integrated woofer cabinet that blends well with the ESL Panel.  
  
Go for the Acoustat  - if they are in good condition.

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Mijostyn -Right now I have 2+2s and an ornate subwoofer system crossed over at 125 Hz.

That is a very high crossover point ?
I only need to cross the subs I use with the Quad 57's at 60 hz.

I have a pair of Model 2s that came with the interfaces but I modified them to work with a pair of the Acoustat servo amps I picked up. I also modified the panels to achieve greater dispersion. The sound fine on their own, but subs do improve things. I biamp crossed over at 100 Hz for low pass and high pass using 4 woofers.

I also have Quad ESL 57s and Roger Modjeski's ESLs with his direct drive amp. I can say the Acoustats hold their own against both of these speakers. As for more modern ESLs, the best I have heard is Sanders Sound which has an integrated bass driver. You don't get the dispersion of a SoundLab, but I could never see what the big deal was about SoundLabs anyway. Nice speakers, but I'll stick with what I have.

@ct0517 interesting you cross the Quads over at 60 Hz. I cross mine over at 100 Hz to avoid the intentional bump a 90 Hz that Walker designed into the speaker.