Electrostats Shootout at 4000 Corral

Sedond alright! went to VMP's web, very interesting design the RIBBON MONITOR 1 ($1600 pr.) really looks like this might do the trick.the vmp RM1 has DUAL 8' SOLID GRAPHITE woofers AND a 10" PASSIVE RADIATOR (graphite as opposed to horrible sounding polyplastic sweet,sweet) really packs a punch on ALL the lower octaves!! WOW! very hard to resist buying the erosmk11 or the quads 988. however the price of the vmp's $1600 (on the 40's i saw no info. so ?) as opposed to $6000 on the eros and $5000 on the quads , gives me a bunch more to spend on rest of system. and the 7' ribbon midrange + spiral ribbon tweeter, nice! ...VMP,RM1..VMP,RM1..VMP,RM1..VMP,.......thanks tweek

hey tweek, go to the harmonicdiscord site & check out vmps' forum there - brian's www is outta date, supposed to be updated any time. the latest rm1 & rm2 are better than what's shown on his site - improved ribbon midrange *and* tweet. the new midrange x-over is now something like 157hz instead of the 450hz as shown on the website.

and, no, the rm40 ain't there yet, which is why i posted the previous link to a foto of it from the ces. and a few folks who've purchased the rm40 (& the rm1 & 2) give their opinions on the speakers on the harmonicdiscord site...

if money is an issue, (when *isn't* it!) you can even save a few more bucks by getting the kits, w/or w/o cabinets, depending on your skills. if ya get the cabinets, then ya just have to install the hardware & solder up the wire. also, a few dealers have been known to haggle on price, and shipping *is* included in the price. this can be quite a savings, especially if ya went for the rm40's, which weigh in at 240lbs *each*! brian makes sure the cabinets are well-damped! ;~)

doug s.

Hi. For what it's worth, I've gone through my own odyssey in search of the right 'stat. I first heard one over 10 years ago, a small Maggie playing Dire Straits. The speed, clarity and depth hooked me from the first. Some of the higher end boxes can sound pretty good, but I must say I've never like Wilsons (even the expensive Maxx's) since they sound to me very dry and analytical and closed-in even with a broad variety of electronics). I've gone from a small set of Maggies to two different sets of the six panel Tympanies culminating in the IVa series. I loved them for 5 years or so but had a constant difficulty getting the bass panels properly located. But then I discovered Soundlabs, and have moved from the A3's to the Ultimate 2's. Every change I've made has been a definite step up. The Soundlabs seem much clearer with better timbre and better dynamics than the Maggies to my ears, but they do require even more juice. (Of course they are a lot more expensive too.) I was happy with Classe 15's with my Maggies, but my Ultimate 2's (which are less efficient than the A3's) require the power of Innersound's Electrostatic amp, although I heard in a friend's room how the Ultimate 1's could sound great with Wolcott's tube amp.

Sbindeman i've heard the ever so popular maggies 1.6, was npt impressed. i've just listened to ML's ascent with 8year old conrad johnson monos took lots if juice to get ANY volume. someone said that the sound labs sound great but only the innersound megawatt amp or monarchy's big mama can give the sound labs what they need. i want the new pathos due out in may for the beautiful sound its supposed to produce. so i'm planning to fly out to san antonio to hear what are supposed to be phenomonal ELS speakers, the QUAD's 988,the 989 are supposed to be better BUT are 1)very large 2)very expensive 3)very thirsty,and if these don't sound like $6000 speakers then i'm going to do what Sedond suggests go with the AMP Ribbon Monitor 1 ($1500).

Would love to help but haven't heard the new Quads. Good luck in San Antonio (Galen Carol?).

Since it is my post i think i'll close it. After all considerations of the size the cost the inefficiency of the awesome sounding electrostats my vote goes to the speaker kits on ZALYTRON.com For 3 reasons 1)They only use the best drivers and 2) have the most reasonable prices 3) offer the biggest line.

Now you are talking.

Again!

Mr. Ljgj Please explain what you mean to say. I told you that my QUEST for the 21ST century would take me to unknown lands. All ya'll can stay at home I'm a "man on a mission" as they say. The kits may be beyond my intelligence but its below my intelligence to pay for some of the LOUDspeakers built for the masses. I always was one for the unique.

The People Rest!

Ljgj why the crypt?

Just messing with you. The Rm 40's are in and going through breaking in very nicely - I will keep you posted.

Hey Ljgj can you give me a honest opinion as to the charms or lack of in the ribbon/tweet AND the ribbon/mid. I'm focusing on a kit in a MTM 5.25 + RAVEN-2 ($1600) + SUB design or the 626($1600) + SUB. I listen to classical music so i need a big DYNAMIC mid sound. I think the Raven-2 is a mid/tweet/ribbon but not sure. The R-3 is but its $1600 EACH!!! Keep in touch

I heard the Ravens are pretty expensive - they are an option on the VMPS at a premium upgrade price. I passed . Dynamics come from the drivers working together doing their jobs. The speed is important and ribbons are deisned to do that but the woofer must keep up to get a natural sound. It is hard to beat the ribbon for mids and highs - electrostats do a good job of giving them a run.