What is the best planar or electrostatic speaker?


Hi All

I just wanted everyone to know that the new Flagship State of the Art BG Radia FS 880 Planar dipole speakers will be arriving soon in my listening room.

My 2 friends who are engineers and speaker builders helped build the prototypes which were the BG Radia LA 800's (in wall design) which were modified as dipoles. The system was tri - amped using the Pass Labs XVR1 Electronic crossover with goldpoint attenuators.

I sold them to make way for the new FS 880 model which looks different than the 800 protos. But does still have a total of 12 Neo 10's mids, 32 Neo 3 tweeters but differs vfrom the protos in that they have 4 woofers per side with the included 1200 watt amps.

Please check out Dr. Sakakini's You Tube video key words:

BG Radia Dipole 800/FS880 prototypes
128x128faxer
This is a bogus comparison! Electrostatic and Planar Magnetic loudspeakers are two different kinds of machines, with different sonic signatures.

You have to ask: "what's the best of", in each category separately.
With all due respect it sas an open ended question
It could be answered with regard to either type speaker
The title of your thread is "Whats the best planar or electrostatic speaker" but the content of your question is about new speakers (which are neither stat nor planar) you have coming. Not really clear how one relates to the other?
They are a planar magnetic design.
I posted this to get other opinions or to find out if other members agree with what I posted.
I've not heard them. But to answer your question, in my opinion, if you want to produce music in your home, the Quad ESL57, are not only the best planar or electrostatic speaker, but the best speaker, period.
In my biased opinion, without a doubt, SoundLab electrostatic speakers, particularly the U-1PX. And I have heard them all.
The new BG could be very nice; I have heard others similar and there is an appealing sound to them. What's the MSRP?

Danny Richie is involved in some interesting planar hybrids. The smaller multiple driver designs are improving the magnetic planar sound imo, but I'm not convinced it has unseated ESL in several performance parameters including cleanness, coherency. I thought magnetic planar technology was dead until they started coming out with the smaller drivers, which I feel will save this type of speaker going forward.

King Sound King III (which I reviewed for Dagogo.com and own) is still my current favorite for panel sound at the price point, now $14K.

I consider the older Quad to be a vintage selection, not able to perform on a par with newer designs.

01-04-14: Douglas_schroeder
The new BG could be very nice; I have heard others similar and there is an appealing sound to them. What's the MSRP?

$35K.
For what it's worth:
Faxer, the person who started this thread, appears to be the same person (searay328@msn.com) who posted this on Audio Asylum and had it promptly moved to Whiner's Woad. I'm surprised the thread remains at all.
@Essentialaudio- Thx for posting, for a minute there I thought my BS detector had registered a false positive ;-)
My vote is for Soundlab;I feel the manufacture the best electrostatic speaker and are made in the USA.
For $35K, I'm sure you could cut a deal with your local Magnepan/JL dealer for a pair of Maggie 20.7s and a pair of Gotham G213s. I'm not so sure that the BGs the OP is shilling would be better.

Or pair the 20.7s with a pair of JL Fathom F212s for $10K LESS than the BG Radia FS 880s. I think those JLs would still be able to keep up.