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Electrostats Shootout at 4000 Corral

from the latest electrostat technology the gunslingers are from kansas the legendary MARTIN LOGAN with the ASSENT($4000) from utah SOUND LABS with their handsome DYNOSTAT($3900) and from georgia INNERSOUND with EROS PASSIVE($4000) to make this as fair as possibile KRELL 300i amp($3000 new $1200 used) and for CDP hmmm take the NAD C540($600 NEW) i would prefer GASMAN'S recommendation the powerful INNERSOUND ESL amp($3000 new) gives 300 watts into 8 ohms 600 into 4 and 1000 into 2. for cdp i would prefer the new GRANITE 657 TUBE CDP($2500). i have seen MARTIN LOGAN shoot, BEAUTIFUL! no dealers in new orleans for INNERSOUND or SOUND LABS , guess have to drive to houston or atlanta to hear these guys. you know it seems the shootout is not between these 3, its more like these 3 against the HUNDREDS of box LOUDspeakers(WITH THE WILSONS leading the pack and the MAGEPLANNARS are in the pack as well. sorry maggie devotes i'VE HEARD THE MAGGIE 1.6 with CALIFORNIA LABS CDP and a NAD amp as well with a ROGUE amp ,not impressed. so its a question of which of the 3 electrostat can knock off the most boxed LOUD speakers. tweekerman
tweekerman
ljgj
955 posts
 
Just kidding up there - its like you sort of said awhile back you are not picking a wife just a girlfriend and sooner or later you will be bored with her and move on to something better - enjoy the MUSIC!!!!
themusicshop
41 posts
 
I heard the Innersound speakers and amps at CES this year...........One of the best sounds at the show. Giving alot of thought to becoming a Innersound dealer. Great sounding products.
tweekerman OP
473 posts
 
HELLO Fmpnd BRAVO your experience of these magical mk11 or mk1 has the most convincing testamony. so it seems your post can bring this thread to a close. Gasman and Plato both back up your experience. the description of your system sounds looks like you,ve done your homework ,i am going to take a look at the equipment you mention. its interesting martinlogan has like 8 models ,and sound lab has like 8 models innersound has 2 or 3 ,martin logan goes to $80000 sl's goes up to like $20000, big is not always better in fact almost never not! TO: all the martin logan devotees and the lovers of sound labs please refer all your protests to Gasman, Plato, and most of all to Fmpnd. as far as i'm concerned the shootout is over... lets go to the saloon.. drinks are on me.
audiokinesis
2,737 posts
 
First off, thank you to Sean and Chuckie for your kind words. Whadda ya think guys - do I owe them a nice big discount next go-round, or what??

I'd have to agree with Plato that overall the InnerSound Eros outperforms the stock Dynastat. The bass section of the Dynastat - in particular the cabinet itself - is in my opinion the weak link. I do a few tweaks that help out a bit, but that transmission line bass of the Eros is superb.

Getting the Dynastats set up right is much more difficult and involving than setting up conventional speakers or full-range electrostats. This is true of any electrostatic/dynamic hybrid. The bias control, brilliance control, and bass level control all have to be set right for your listening position (and your taste) in your room.

I would say the Eros is dangerous competition for the much more expensive Martin Prodigy. I confess, however, that I do like the wide radiation pattern of the Sound Lab speakers. I've made a few suggestions to Sound Lab regarding an improved bass section for the Dynastat, but a major redesign would probably push the price up significantly.

Amplifier matching is critical with the big full-range Sound Labs. The best bang-for-the-buck amps I have found so far are the InnerSound amps, which I sell (I don't sell their speakers, at least not yet).

I've encountered a couple of setups where the big Sound Labs were bloated in the bass. By far the worst was at 2002 CES, where the room's walls were so flimsy you could put your hand on the walls and feel them vibrating. That room was hopeless. In other rooms, I've found that moving the listening position helped a great deal.

One of my customers plays violin in a symphony orchestra. His previous speaker was a highly customized pair of Quad 57's, which he said were the only speaker he'd heard get violin right. When he listened to the big Sound Labs, he told me that not only did they get the violin right, but also cello and string bass, which was a first in his experience. Another one of my customers is a drummer, who told me the big Sound Labs have the best bottom-end definition of any speaker she's heard. Still another customer preferred the bottom end of the Sound Labs to that of his $40,000 Genesis system with something like sixteen servo-controlled woofers. I make mention of all this to point out that, when set up right (and assuming the room acoustic gods haven't cursed you), the big Sound Labs do some magical things in the bottom octave or two.

That being said, the dynamic range of the Eros is indeed greater than that of the big Sound Labs (unless you have really humongous amplifiers). Personally I prefer the package of attributes the big Sound Labs offer, but I respect the Eros a great deal.

Best wishes to you in your quest, Tweekerman!
sean
6,231 posts
 
Albert, you have to remember that the newer Eros are something like 96 db's at one watt !!! With 21 watts of tube power, they would ROAR. There are no doubts that the Innersound's ARE the king of E-stat dynamics from that point of view. Whether or not the dynamic woofer and panels blend well together is a personal decision. I've never heard them first hand, so i can't say either way. Sean
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