[Jazzman53]

Hi all, 

Having sworn off speaker building forever, after the 4-pair speaker project last year; the psychosis is back and I'm now making sawdust on two pairs of my Jazzman MkIII hybrid electrostatic speaker, and both pairs will be for sale.   

The MkIII is a symmetrically segmented wire-stator design which bends the wave front electronically to emulate a line source projecting a cylindrical wave front, giving wider and smoother trending dispersion than a curved ESL, or even most conventional speakers.   
         
The frame and stator lattices are solid red oak with interlocking joinery (no MDF or veneers) and will include front & back magnetically attached grills/dust covers.  The bass section uses a 12” Peerless SLS woofer in a tapered H-baffle, crossing over at 250Hz.     

The MkIII is not a plug & play design-- it must be bi-amplified using an outboard digital crossover (not included).  I recommend a DBX Driverack PA2 or Venu 360.
   
These speakers are horrifically labor intensive to build, and after auditioning them at this year’s CarverFest, I've had quite a few purchase requests, so I've deiced to build a couple of pairs to sell.  It will take me several months to complete the speakers and I will post a sales notice probably in the spring.

Just to give an idea of how good these speakers are; one of the guys who bought a pair this year sold his Legacy Whispers and kept the MkIII's.  And he told me that the Whispers had more bass (two 15" woofers, duh...), but the MKIII's are better in every other respect.   

Below are photos and a video showing the Jazzman MkIII speaker: 

https://youtu.be/Q_4sddiBEoU

[BruceSB]

Great to see that you are making your great speakers available to the electrostatic speaker loving public.
Not to mention making a little extra cash on the side!
Actually this does not appear particularly uncommon.
I understand Blanko only make four of their electrostatics per year.
Hope it all goes well.
Bruce

[HappytrailsPC]

I had the honor of seeing and hearing these at Carverfest.  They were amazing on many levels.

Paul

[Digi-G]

C'mon, you know you love making these!

Even that jig you have for laying out / stretching the wires is something to behold.  I've watched your build video several times.  Even on youtube I can tell these speakers are something special.

[Jazzman53]

Update 12/6/20:
 
Speaker frames are completed, ready for stain & satin poly finish.
 
And this morning I finished cutting the stator lattice details. 
 
In the photo below are 204 precision cut, interlocking stator details for the two pairs of speakers.  I don't have any fancy CNC machines-- everything was cut on a table saw and it's a shitload of work:
 

[Jazzman53]

Update 12/27/2020:

All woodwork is complete except for the grill frames. 

Today I completed the amp/speaker interfaces, each of which consists of a high-voltage bias supply and a tandem pair of step-up transformers:

[Jazzman53]

Update Feb. 15, 2021:
 
Today I received the back ordered woofers to complete the second pair.  As of this evening; both pairs are finally finished. 
 
I've had one pair playing for two weeks, and this evening I'm playing the second pair.   I will burn them in for a while-- to make sure there are no cold solder joints or rattles, and to stabilize the diaphragm tensions. 
 
At some point I will pull the trigger and announce them for sale (sometime in March, probably).   
 
Shown below is the second pair with the grills on.
 

[Jazzman53]

Update 3/14/2021:

I'm pleased to announce that both pairs are completed, fully tested, and these are the finest speakers I've ever built.

The price is $6,000/pair. 

There is a 30-day money-back satisfaction guarantee and a five year warranty.   Pick-up in Savannah, GA or accept UPS charges for professional packaging and insured shipping (I can't quote for UPS but pro packaging won't be cheap).  Shipping is limited to the continental United States.

Please note that these speakers require a separate DSP crossover (not included) and bi-amplification (4 channels x 100 watts, minimum).  I recommend a DBX Driverack PA2 with microphone for tuning. 

Contact Charlie Mimbs at email:  Jazzman 1953@gmail.com

Below is a review by Greg Garska, Administrator of the CarverSite Audio Forum:

"That's an excellent price for those speakers.
 
My impression is they are loud, alive and don't really have any flaws in their presentation. What I mean by flaw is that most speakers are really good at some things; like rich bass, smooth highs, etc. Sometimes when listening to speakers we're impressed so much by what they are good at it's easy to ignore what they aren't.
 
I never had that experience with these ESL's. I listened to several pieces of music that I'm well familiar with, listening for those flaws and details. The speakers are 5 stars in every aspect - they are accurate, detailed, powerful, rich and by far the most musical speakers one could ask for.
 
By musical I mean presence. The sound is HUGE, and can hit you in the chest, but it's also delicate and easy when the music goes there. I had no trouble listening to the more challenging parts of music, you know, things that only top quality system can reveal. Breathing in the vocals, fingers on the strings - the kinds of things that put you next to the musicians.
 
You won't be listening to these speakers when you hear them, you'll be listening to music.
 
You just can't ask for more than that."


WARRANTY (same as Martin-Logan’s, plus my 30-day satisfaction guarantee):


Within 30 days of pickup/delivery; the speakers may be returned in undamaged condition for a full refund of the purchase price, excluding any initial packing/shipping costs, and subject to the return shipping requirements below. 

Additionally; the speakers are warranted to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for five years from date of pickup/delivery, with the following limitations:

·       Applies to original buyer; not transferable.

·       Applies to normal home use; professional/commercial use excluded.

·       Damage caused by mishandling, neglect, transport, or failure to adhere to the Requirements/Cautions below, is not covered.

·       Warranty returns shall be pre-arranged and shall be delivered or properly packaged and shipped by the buyer, at buyer’s expense.   

       Professional packaging and insured shipping recommended; as buyer assumes responsibility for any damage incurred in return shipping.   

·       Warranty work may be a repair or replacement, at seller’s discretion.
 

Requirements / Cautions:

Panel crossover frequency & slope: 250Hz-300Hz & 24db-48db/octave.  Recommend 300Hz @ 36db/octave for the 3-month break-in period.   
AC power cord must be in a switched plugin to power the bias supply ON/OFF with amps (always ON attracts dust & prematurely ages the diaphragm coating).
The front grills are fragile-- avoid over-bending them. 
High humidity and dust buildup can cause corrosion and arcing, which can shorten speaker life.  Use/store in an air-conditioned environment only.
Dust buildup can be blown out with low pressure canned air or vacuumed out using care to avoid impacting the stator wires or diaphragm.  Leaving the grills on prevents any significant dust buildup.
 

[Jazzman53]

Here's a testimonial from a Jazzman MkIII owner (I don't want to post his name on a public forum):

“After a couple of us rode Charlie for 3 years or so, he finally relented and made myself and a couple of other close friends a pair of these. I have owned speakers, one in particular, up into the five figure range. The latest pair (before Charlie’s) was a behemoth that weighed 220lbs. a piece. No need to mention name, but it was a very well respected and reviewed speaker. I really never thought I would get the itch to upgrade. That is until I heard Charlie’s Stats a few years ago.

I have always been a big speaker type of guy as most are on this forum. Just like the life like size of the concert presentation you just don’t get from a bookshelf speaker.  My wife and I used to attend audio shows all over the SE US years ago before settling on my last purchase before Charlie’s stats.

I was blown away when I heard Charlie’s personal Stats after my very significant purchase. I heard some detail I had not heard before on my rather expensive personal speakers. The highs were a tad clearer and more detailed, the mids were very similar, but the vocals were more natural on Charlie’s stats.

In addition, Charlie’s stats ranked up there with the best Stat’s I had heard at all the shows that we attended. I thought to myself, how can this magic come from a DIY Stat. How could this possibly compete and best some of what the big boys had been doing for years, especially with their R&D funds? But yet it was.

The Icing on the cake, especially someone that had two back surgeries and in need of a third, a 45 to 50lb. Speaker that sounds so damn good and life like. It has everything, life like sound stage, detail, some of the most natural vocals I have ever heard, midrange that competes with some of the best of them, and highs that are crystal clear. Just be aware, as Charlie mentioned, will need to make room for a sub or two for the lower octaves.

In closing, I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to purchase these very special speakers.  My wife and I have an extensive catalog of concerts.  We watch concerts probably 4 or 5 nights a week in our HTR . Brings a smile to our face all the time. As I write this, Steve Winwood is our entertainment tonight. He has never sounded better. Better sound in my HTR than at the numerous concerts we attend, you betcha. Thank you Charlie!”