Speakers to hang on to for LIFE

I have so many used classics that i do not want to let go and that's my humongous panel electrostat ACOUSTAT spectra 33 w/spl-1 subwoofer that only companies like SOUNDLAB make larger ones. In todays HT room/space restraints on most music lovers, large panels or large conventional designs are for those with abnormal homes or listening area. The others are the discontinued ohm walsh 4x0, 2x0, pro 200 and a defunct speaker attempt by srslabs called klayman signatures which actually are fine sounding panel speakers which was designed to have a sub in mind and amplification of minimal rms. Marketing and competition is what killed those projects like any other but I am impressed by it's capabilities for home theater. I have maggies too, but with the maggies or magnepans, You either love them or hate them because of placement, but for those of us who love our maggies, it's hard not to always move up to the higher models. I have other brands, but I would have no problem finding other designs to replace them. Of all the models I have it's a close call between OHM and MAGNEPAN to my taste. The problem especially of electrostats as great as they are is set up and maintenance where as other designs, you don't need to do the extra care.

my acoustat SPECTRA 33 electrostats since it's no longer manufactured and the company is no longer U.S.
not impressed with the chinese company that bought it. They downsized the original design.
all of my OHM ACOUSTICS are worth preserving especially the pyrmaid cabinets.

I have an acoustat spectra 33 w/spl 1 subwoofer I acquired a number of years ago with the original box from the original owner. Definitely a collectors speaker and the largest I have and one of the largest acoustat ever made until they came up with the spectra 44, 66 and the 4400,6600 series. It's literally the size of a room divider, sort of like the magnepan tympani series. I think my ohm walsh 300 mk 2 and my ess heil 1d, and now the janszen add on electrostat high/mid panel are loudspeakers and add ons worth holding on to. I also have a rare SRSLABS klayman signature that was made in 2002 that is also no longer made. One of the few flat panel loudspeakers that can only operate with a subwoofer and totally useless without one but create a good HT soundstage but no where in the same league as all the speakers mentioned. Srslabs did a great job for HT on them but could not sell them. That was the demise of acoustat, too much competition at the time and did have the marketing to keep the business going, but it was considered one of the great manufacturers of electrostat speakers. Janszens,quads and martin logans managed to survived over the years.

I have two, my acoustat spectra 33 stored and my currently used and continuously modifying ESS heil 1D. I have found the ESS as the volkswagon of loudspeakers. You can modify so many parts to it as long as you keep at least the main drivers. Adding ess heil and tweaking the crossovers or even replacing them is also an option. I decided tweak the crossovers with dakiom stablizers and adding newer ess woofers and removing the passive radiator. I am now adding a THIRD ess heil driver as a linesource stacked. with TWO, the sound is unbelievably real as if the musicians are there with the right kind of equipment matching. In my case an integrated tube amp and a tube cdp. I plan on putting it even in another level by stacking 3 ESS HEILS. If you're an ESS fan, it's worth stacking the ESS heils if you can afford it. As much as i love planars and electrostats, a modified ESS heils to me is the most enjoyable I have ever owned. I have magnepans, acoustats, eminent tech, ohm acoustics, SLS, srslabs, klipsch, sunfire, bic, advent, dbx soundfield. I collect speakers. So far I have found my modified ESS as the most revealing and most realistic live sounding loudspeaker I have ever experienced. It blows away martin logan's and others in my opinion. My modified ess is awesome. It can handle power and the bass are super realistic and the mids and highs are so real, you think the vocalists and instrumentalist are in front of you.