Review: Acoustat Model 2 Speaker


Category: Speakers

To this day I remember the first time I heard Acoustat Speakers,they were the 1+1. Until that time I thought I had heard the best there was. But those Acoustats just literally blew me away. Thats tough for me to say being the jaded audiophile I am. However due to the 1+1 height of nearly 7 feet I just couldn't use them in the house I had at the time. What a disappointment that was. However a couple of year later the Model 2 came out. Same panels but this time mounted side by side instead of vertical. Now that I could use,in the house I had.

So the review here will be of the Model 2 Acoustats. I have never been disappointed in the sound of the Acoustats. I listen mostly to Jazz,Classical and Rock. The Model 2s always deliver the music with astonshing clarity,detail and depth. For me the most important aspect of a speaker is to deliver the music as close as possible to the orginal studio recording and the Model 2 truly excel in this area. In fact at times damn near startling in their presentation. I have as usual been searching for speakers that could truly out class the venerable Model 2. Have listen to every Planar speaker out there,and to this day have not found any to warrant replacing the Model 2. And for going on 20 years now that speaks volumes on these speakers.

The weakness of the Model 2 is that they need power at least 100 per channel.They are also dipole. You have to really tune them to the room their in. And once every few years the interfaces need to be serviced. Also if the rest of the system is not up to the task,the Model 2s are unforgiving.

Once a few years ago I did audition a pair of Martin Logans for a week in my home. The MLs were very good,but to my judgement the ole Model 2s were just as good.If the MLs had truly outclassed the Model 2,the I would have paid the $3,500.00 for the Martin Logans.

So the search continues in this field.

Specifications
Frequency Response:35-20K + or - 2dB
Sound Pressure Level:105 dB @ 15' in a 12'x18' room
Minimum Power Requirements: 100 Watts RMS
Nominal Impedance:4 Ohms
Power Consumption: 5 watts 120V60 Hz
Control:High Frequency Balance above 10K Hz
Dimensions: 58"x20"x3 1/2"
Weight:64 pounds each with interface.

Associated gear
Acoustat TNT 200 Power Amp,Acoustat MRP PreAmp,Denon DCM 370 CD Player,Denon DP 61 F Turntable.

Similar products
Magnepan,Martin Logans,EROS,Vandersteen,etc.

ferrari
Have an Austin buddy with(I believe) Model 2 hybrids from 1983. They seem to acquit themselves well when I visit
If anyone needs to contact Roy Esposito, who used to work for Acoustat, the latest info I have seen is: acoustat.service.usa@gmail.com
Since the company has gone bankrupt and no longer exists, I wonder if there is any enthusiast among you who wants to bring back to life some of their legendary models?
I assume that some of their models are good even from today's criteria for sound and quality. This subject is interesting to me and I would be happy to deal with it.
Does anyone want to collaborate and work together to make several copies of these legendary speakers for personal use?
I don't think it's such a complicated task with the available information and a little reverse engineering.
Funny you should bring this up.  I had the same conversation with Roy Esposito last year, and he expressed a possible interest in being involved if someone could raise the capital to do it.  The design, both the panels and electronics, seem incredibly easy to reproduce.  If anyone has an interest in being involved in resurrecting the Acoustat line, please let me know.

My company is called Sound Insight and we are in the process of building a dedicated servo direct drive amplifier to drive a pair of 2+2’s along with 4 per side open baffle woofers with dedicated 1,000 watt Audio Control amps with DSP for the woofers. We are looking to find a company to supply us with the Acoustat panels or possibly work out some type of business plan to bring these to market. 
currently we have two engineers working for us in the state of the art facility where the speakers have a produce, the servo amplifiers and subwoofers can be manufactured.