Using tube amp with electrostatic speakers.

Planars whether it be magnetic or electrostatic sound their best when fed prodigious solid state juice.....

I have Magnepan 3.7s and I use Bryston 28BSST2's

I do couple it with a full tube pre (Convergent SL1 Renaissance)

I don't think I give anything up to a full tube rig in terms of overall
musicality, but I gain a lot in terms of headroom.....

Everything you say bdp is absolutely correct.......
but none of it negates the fact that ESLs and Magnetics
require a lot of wattage to really sing....

That's why Sanders amps are typically 900w into 4 ohms

Can't get there with tubes, at least not w/ reasonable size/cost
restraints......although I've heard musical results with stats
and tubes, they just haven't had much authority at reasonable
to higher spls

LewM

There's no analogizing......and I know they're different (that's why they're not both called electrostatic)

I have owned LOTS of electrostatic loudspeakers over the years and I have owned Magnetic Planar speakers over the years, and yes.....it is my opinion that both benefit from a lot of juice.......if that makes me full of baloney, then so be it.....does it mean that folks can't get a good sound at reasonable levels with a 60 watt Atmasphere tube amp?  no!  But in my experience, a good dose of juice gives electrostatic loudspeakers (to stay on topic) a more effortless quality better kick in the lower registers....

As to Sanders using 900w amps, his speakers are afterall hybrids, with very prodigious bass at the shows and he will place anyone who comes to his room perfectly on axis in 3 chairs placed along the center line......Once those people buy a pair and get them home, they find out that they again must place their chair along that center line......if they move their head 4 millimeters to the left or right, the soundstage will collapse as will all the detail......I had a friend buy a pair used, drove 400 miles to pick them up , along with the Magtech amp.....got them home, played them for exactly 5 minutes, then put them on Gon.....

I have owned Quad ESL63s, I have owned Acoustat 2+2's with heavily modified Servo amps from their original model X, I have owned Martin Logans.  I now own Magnepan 3.7s  The Magnepan 3.7s absolutely obliterate any electrostatic loudspeaker I have ever owned or heard....they are anything but cold and they capture the natural decay of musical instruments better than any speaker I've heard.....and like you, "That is only my opinion"

LewM,

What part of "I know they're different" did you not catch?  At least you didn't write that I'm full of Baloney again.......Having said that, your explanation of the differences (the differences I acknowledged).....are spot on.

You and others seem to have taken my opinion and tweaked it to say that I say a SS amp is best with Electrostatic, or Magnetic planar for that matter.....It's not really SS versus Tube it's current...  Would a world class 150W tube amplifier sound better than it's identical but smaller stablemate say at 50W.......I guess some would say YES.....I say in most cases, the 150W would sound better.......When you get beyond that....solid state of course becomes prevalent.....I love tubes on electrostatics, and most of the electrostatics I've had, save for the Martin Logans were driven by tubes....but I never had the headroom or effortlessness I reference here.......In the case of the Magnepans I have now.......it's quite different......they simply WILL NOT SING without a couple of hundred watts......they'll make music, but they won't sing....
but when I feed them nearly 2KW into 4OHMS like I have on tap with the Brystons.....everything takes on an effortlessness that's hard to describe......

Sanders does indeed disavow curvilinear.....his goal is to remove the room and it's issues as much as possible.....
In theory it makes sense, and if you listen to Sanders at a show, you will leave the room impressed.......but listening to a pair in someone's living room, they are the most aggravating loudspeaker I have ever experienced by a wide margin.....you hear all about "sweet spots".....in the case of the Sanders, you will have a close relationship w/ the sweet spot because you'll need to be square in it to hear anything remotely musical at all......It's not head in a vice, it's head in a tightened vice......
the Acoustats, ML's and Magnepan's I've experienced did not suffer from this at all.....

Sound Labs are the only electrostatics I have never heard.....

The Sanders are not a set of tradeoffs, they are in my mind unlistenable
because of how you must be positioned in the room........

I think the MC275 would be a great amp for stats in a reasonably sized room. I would however, go substantial solid state with a great tube preamp and use Magnepan 3.7s which I think are more musical than ML (although I’ve only had experience with a couple of models)
I’ve seen lightly used pairs of 3.7s for 3K which is quite unbelievable actually........