Electrostatic speakers and low volume resolution

Roger Modjeski of Music Reference/RAM Labs is making an ESL speaker that is direct-driven, but it's not cheap. He is also a proponent of low-power amps/high-sensitivity loudspeakers.

Perhaps your observation is not true of all electrostatic speakers, certainly not mine. IMO, In a well set up system, Sound Lab electrostatic speakers retain their ability to present an exceptionally full bodied and rich presentation with full resolution at all volume levels. And, my ears are 71 years old!

Actually Roger is a proponent of understanding power requirements as it relates to driving speakers and achievinng adequate listening levels, regardless of the sensitivity of the speaker. I can recall discussing with him a customer of his that uses his low sensitivity ESLs with his 5 watt EM-7 amp and getting adequate volume from them. I learned a lot from that conversation.

You can currently buy a direct drive amp from Roger for use with Acoustat speakers sans their transformers. The amp puts out some serious voltage. For those in the Bay Area Roger has started an electronics school in the Berkeley area. Check it out if you are interested in learning more about the science of this hobby rather than.....

Twb, you're right; I haven't heard them all and, likely, never will. My post was probably mistitled if it leads readers to think that I mean to indict electrostats, in general, as deficient in low volume resolution...I dont. It was not a statement but was worded in a way meant to inspire discussion. I don't know how much of the thread you read but the discussion centered around Martin Logan products and their specific characteristics because those are what I've owned for over 35 years. To reiterate, these consisted of Prodigy, SL3, CLS2, Odyssey and, now, the Ethos.

One of the things that I've more than alluded to here is the role that age related hearing has in this issue. I suspect that it's a relatively significant one in my case and just because our ages are close, does not mean that our hearing losses are of the same type or degree. For consideration also is that we don't necessarilly all have the same expectations of our equipment or what we like to hear.

Cleo, thanks, but I'm already familiar with those discussions so maybe I'll.....

OK, after all of this discussion and well considered advice I've decided on at least an interim resolution. As I've alluded to in this and other posts, I'm using my EQ to accommodate several perceived deficiencies which have mostly to do with personal hearing issues. Because this particular EQ (Behringer DEQ2496) provides storage slots for many different equalization programs it's possible to design customized listening for specific scenarios. In my case, for low level listening I've made adjustments that mimmick the "loudness" controls typically found on older amplifiers which brings back what I was missing at these lower volumes.

For listening at "normal" levels the only adjustment in place is that created using the automatic room equalization capability which affects only those frequencies below 500Hz. Room EQ settings are not included in the low volume settings as lowering those frequencies would be inconsistent with the "loudness" settings goal.

The bottom line is that because I'm very happy with the quality of sound from my system in almost every way, for those circumstances requiring less obtrusive volumes, my best approach may be to forget using my primary setup and go to my second system.

On a related note, I'll reiterate the finding that, based on information provided in this thread, substituting a lower powered amp (Peachtree Audio Nova) for the 220W amp actually DID reduce low volume distortion resulting in improved resolution. I put the power amp back in the system, though, because it's performance is better from an overall standpoint.