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Need some wisdom comparing planars

I appreciated Sean's essay in the recent "what is your opinion" thread re: electrostats vs. horns.

As a studio musician and classically trained pianist, I have recently been bitten by the planar bug after hearing Magnepan 3.6's through VTL monoblocks at my very patient local dealer. But biting the bullet to purchase 3.6's (and required upstream horsepower to appreciate them) may be out of my financial league.

Any thoughts re: the smaller 1.6QR's (which I have not yet heard), and similar tier products from other planar manufacturers (Martin Logan, Apogee, Final, etc.)? I heard a pair of Martin Logans (sorry, didn't get model number) but I was unimpressed, seemed notably darker and muted compared to the 3.6's.

I'm also curious what people are using upstream with satisfaction...are tubes that much more preferred? Can one use an integrated SS like the Krell KAV300iL with good results? How much power is really required to get musical results?

FYI, my eclectic tastes run the gamut from jazz (Bill Evans to Pat Metheny to Jane Monheit to Duke Ellington) to rock (Dream Theater to Metallica to Eric Johnson to ELP) to classical (Bach, et. al.) to avant garde (Wendy Carlos to Robert Fripp to Varese to King Crimson)

I realise even the larger 3.6's have liabilities with the harder edged, bass-rich genre's, but the immediacy, slap, soundstage and presentation of acoustic instruments has me hooked.

Thanks in advance for any responses.
timwat

Showing 1 response by macdonj

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macdonj
118 posts
 
Timwat,

You've got a lot of information here to sort through.

I agree with 1953 on the virtues of Apogees. I've owned Stages for eight years now.

Sean makes good suggestions regarding a subwoofer. I'd recommend a small, fast sub, also. I used a Velodyne ULD-15 for years (crossover reset to 60 Hz) and finally sold it recently in favor of Mini-Grand style dual 8" subs to better match the speed of the ribbons.

As far as amplification goes, I've found that planars can't be given enough current. I've upgraded amplification twice in the past eight years: from 120W to 200W and then back to 160W. The last upgrade was key: from Rotel to Threshold.

While I don't have any experience with the new Martin-Logans, I chose the Stage over both the Sequel and Aerius (original) because the ML sounded veiled by comparison.

My $0.02, FWIW, YMMV (and any other internet acronyms I can think of).
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