AudioCircle
Audio/Video Gear and Systems => Planar Circle => Topic started by: steve f on 10 May 2015, 01:46 pm
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Essence just dramatically cut the prices of their ESL. Like in half. They decided to go factory direct to their consumers.
The BIG Questions. Who has auditioned them? What do they sound like? How good is fit and finish?
I've read that they're really good. I've read that they are colored sounding. That would be weird foe an ESL.
I've read that they are failure prone. You get it. I trust our members. What do you know from experience?
steve 8)
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I haven't heard them so can't comment.
Anyone out there?
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I can't wait until those model 1900 to come out this summer at 50% off and free shipping! :thumb:
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I just received this email from Essence:
"I’ve got some big news to report about Essence. We are adopting the online consumer direct sales philosophy exclusively, resulting in a startlingly new entry level price for our gorgeous full range electrostats at just $1999 per pair including free shipping. They formerly sold for $3995 a pair not including shipping.
We opened our doors 2 years ago last month with the intention of building an international distributor and dealer network for our products comprised of high end audio/video specialists. This was always the traditional way to do things but it makes everything more expensive, with a master distributor for each country who makes 40-50% profit selling through retail stores that also have to add their own 40-50% profit margin to support their brick and mortar location and cover their overhead.
When all the brands did the same thing and there were plenty of stores, it all seemed to work OK, consumers got the benefit of having a place to level playing field audition and compare the products along with the expertise of the audio sales staff adding their thoughts and opinions. After the Financial Crises of 2008-09, a lot of distributors and dealers closed their doors and a lot of manufacturers started selling direct to the consumer.
Those that sell direct have a big advantage over those that dont, their prices are much lower without all those distribution costs added in. Consumers have learned to use the internet to research the products they find interesting, read reviews, and draw their own conclusions about what to buy instead of relying on their local dealer to recommend it. Efficiency is rewarded while tradition sits in the warehouse gathering dust. There are no more sure things, not even the mighty AVR withstood the changes brought about by new technologies and a new type of consumer, the Millennials. As the sound bar became popular, sales of AVRs dropped by 50%, even Pioneer got out of the business. Looking back, that was the real turning point.
We thought our new electrostatic speakers would flourish in the traditional marketplace and gave it a good try, spending considerable resources on marketing and promotion of our brand for 2 years. What we discovered was shocking; the biggest and best of the remaining dealers are captive to the brands they sell now because those brands offer free financing terms with up to 60 days to pay, free flooring of the demo gear, and huge margins to pay for it all. Smaller brands and start-ups got squeezed out of the stores and even when consumers ask for these new products by name, the dealers are so locked in to their existing stock, they will bad-mouth the new brand and tell the customer the product is no good even if they’ve never heard it.
Some countries have always done business this way, notably Japan is an example of a vertically closed market. Its very hard to find USA made audio products in Japan, distribution is controlled by syndicates that control the sales floor in every store, what gets shown and what sells. Consumers in Japan cant buy what they want, they have to buy what the store tells them to buy, this is traditional Japanese mercantilism, not a level playing field like we once had here when there were so many dealers it was easy to find every brand.
The traditional distribution model is corrupted now by an un-level playing field, however the internet allows the new brands to tell their story to one customer at a time worldwide and thats the route we are taking now at Essence. The search engines are the breeding ground for our sales, if you search for electrostatic speakers, you will find Essence among the brands available and that will lead you to our site.
So there it is, a new way of doing things has overwhelmed our attempts to take the traditional approach, we’ve learned the hard way that when the earth-and-moon-from-spacetotal number of stores drops below a certain threshold and become controlled by the brands they carry, the only way to compete with that is online direct at much lower prices than used to be the case. Another advantage of doing things this way is you get to talk to the people who invented these products, nobody knows our technologies better than we do so you get one to one personal service from those who know what they’re talking about. Without all those shipping points, the carbon footprint of the sale drops by 70%, a valid reason to go direct in and of itself, our planet will benefit from thinking green.
The value proposition is incredible this way. If you’ve dreamed of owning electrostatic speakers but couldn’t afford them, we have an offer you might find hard to refuse, starting at $1999 for our full range Essence 1200’s including free shipping anywhere in the world."
I can see their logic in the explanation of not being able to get a foot hold in the few remaining high-end stores. If their SQ is great, I wish them well. Mods: if this post is inappropriate, please remove it.
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No, that's fine so how about the sound quality? Anybody?
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I have experience with their DAC/Pre, and I like it. I have not read any online reviews of either ESL, and I have been looking for them. I suppose we shall have to wait until a couple of our members pull the trigger.
steve
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One other thing about trying to get into the mainstream high end dealers is attending the shows, like Munich and Apoxna, and the frequency of shows, about one per month globally. That's another huge expense added to the price the individual buyer pays. If it were me, I'd do a Europe show and 3 U.S. shows: East coast, West coast and mid-continent (RMAF?) but NOT the big expensive shows like CES. There are forum members whose show comments/reviews are probably more trusted than the big magazine reviewers, so I think showing at the shows those guys attend would be worthwhile. I wish them well in their change to direct sales business model. It can succeed - I'm an Outlaw Audio repeat customer. I'd now be ordering a pair Essence 'stats if I hadn't bought a pair of Acoustat Model 3's last year. I'm a 'stat believer :thumb: Steve, I just noticed two customer reviews on their site.
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Hi Hank,
I have bought another product from them, and I like it. Communication from Essence is excellent too. I have no complaints.
They don't do audio shows. They should attend at least one to get people discussing their wares. For some reason, owner reviews, probably pride of ownership, don't carry the weight of shopper reviews.
For some products, an amp for example, doing a customer review is easy. Two big speaker boxes, not likely.
I really want to try them. I am convinced that loudspeakers are the last big frontier in audio. I have a garage full of various horns, transmission lines, planar magnetics, open baffle, matched directivity boxes, ESLs, etc. All that says I've been an audiophile too long, and that my wife is patient. Maybe they should send me a review pair.
steve
Edit: I know the Acoustats well. I was recently gifted a pair of Quad 989 speakers. One works fine, one has issues. I'm wondering repair or perhaps replace. I'm an ESL fan too.
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I had an email exchange with Bob Rapoport and he is absolutely convinced that the high cost of shows do not have an acceptable ROI. He will wait for sales to pick up as customers post reviews and trade magazine reviewers publish their reviews. I would suggest that exhibiting at RMAF might pick up sales at a faster rate, that's just me and Mr. R has many years of industry experience behind his decision.
IMHO, 'stats rule. Two problems: #1 WAF :roll: #2 Historically, many companies have done a poor job integrating their panels with an integrated subwoofer and the result was not good. Another opinion of mine is that the only subs that can keep up with 'stats are open baffle, servo controlled subs. I just thought of another issue: most 'stats have to be repaired every few years - their designs are just not as robust as Acoustat's.
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The big hurdle has been price but it looks like they're tackling that one.
Online consumer sales is great but speakers are something that you really need to hear for yourself before the purchase.
Even if they do a 30 day home trial like Magnepan does, that's a lot of change to put out to see if you like something.
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I checked out their website. I'd be curious if the specs are any different for the model 1600 - couldn't find anything other than the height difference.
Higher sensitivity? Lower in the bass?
They are also quite narrow compared to some other planar type speakers.
Would love to hear them. :thumb:
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I haven't heard the Essence speakers or their Final predecessors but I’m intrigued and I’m gonna risk sharing my initial thoughts:
From the photos and description, I suspect these speakers are inverted driven and use electrically discrete bass/mid and treble sections with mechanical sectioning to distribute the diaphragm’s fundamental resonance-- like their Final predecessors (I believe). Thus, they should sound similar if not better. The big difference would be the new clear acrylic stators with ink-jet printed coatings; which I think would not sound appreciably different but they are visually stunning, no doubt safer, and probably more reliable.
With inverted drive, the reliability of the diaphragm coating and lead contact would be my concern:
Whereas conventional ESL’s drive the stators, an inverted drive ESL puts the low amperage DC polarizing voltage on the stators and puts the much higher amperage AC driving voltage on the diaphragm coating. Thus, I would think the diaphragm coating and lead contact patch are stressed to a far greater extent. Essence has a lot of experience here so this may not be an issue with their design.
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If the stator coatings have sufficiently high resistance, an inverted drive panel could operate in “constant charge mode”; giving vanishing-low distortion, like a conventionally driven ESL, while requiring only about half the driving voltage and transformer size to produce the same output. In addition to safety, this is the advantage of inverted drive. IF RELIABILITY ISSUES ARE RESOLVED—all should be well.
Since ESL’s have no boxes or cone breakup modes and essentially zero inertial overshoot except within a narrow frequency band centered on the diaphragm’s fundamental (drum-head) resonance (typically between 50Hz-100Hz), there’s really nothing there to color the sound.
And the diaphragm has so little mass relative to the volume of air it moves, it simply can’t ring outside of the fundamental resonance. But if the fundamental is not effectively dampened, it would color the bass big time in that frequency band.
It's been my experience with my DIY speakers that tall thin panels suffer from dipole bass roll off and also tend to have a sharply rising response in the upper midrange, which can sound downright harsh if not properly EQ’d. And they are quite sensitive to speaker placement in the room. These imbalances not properly adjusted out, I suspect, are what have been reported as coloration in some ESL's.
When properly EQ’d, positioned and aimed, ESL’s are indeed magical.
And folks… $1,999 delivered for a full range ESL is a freaking STEAL.
Actually, I find this all quite depressing; as I had been considering building segmented wire stator ESL’s to sell for a modest profit after I retire—but crap Y'all, I couldn't compete with those Essence speakers at that price.
Jazz
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Thank you for describing an inverted ESL. I am so tempted to try them. I was gifted a pair of beautiful Quad 969 speakers of which one is perfect and the other noise prone. I'm debating wether to repair, sell off to buy the Essence, or....
Wouldn't the requirement of a smaller transformer in an inverted design make for a wider frequency range?
Steve
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Thank you for describing an inverted ESL. I am so tempted to try them. I was gifted a pair of beautiful Quad 969 speakers of which one is perfect and the other noise prone. I'm debating wether to repair, sell off to buy the Essence, or....
Wouldn't the requirement of a smaller transformer in an inverted design make for a wider frequency range?
Steve
Yes. From what I've read about the Finals, I'm guessing the new speaker probably uses a single transformer core with two output windings: A high turns ratio winding driving the bass section and a lower turns ratio winding driving the treble strip-- optimizing extension into both the lower and top octaves for wider bandwidth and less stress on the amplifier.
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One more observation: The literature states an F3 of 48Hz; which is quite low for a full range panel of that size. Still, their narrow width guarantees some dipole roll off so I would not expect chest thumping bass at high volume. If you were to clip their output at around 80Hz using a steep filter slope and cross in a pair of subs (not one but two), that would unload the panel considerably and add a real low end foundation. Ripoles or Linkwitz push/pull subs would blend quite well.
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Yep, that's quite a low F3 and I agree that a sharp 80Hz cutoff should work nicely. I still would prefer to do 2 OB servo subs - that's what I'm going to build to go with my Acoustats.
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I just thought of another issue: most 'stats have to be repaired every few years - their designs are just not as robust as Acoustat's.
All the builders on the DIY Audio Forum love Accoustats because they sound fantastic are the most reliable electrostats ever. They've been around for decades and most of them still play wonderfully. The only downside is that if you ever do have to replace the diaphragms, I'm told it's almost impossible to get the stators apart without destroying them, as they were permanently bonded and not designed to ever come apart.
I'm wondering about the longevity of the diaphragm coatings on those Essence panels. Those diaphragms (if indeed driven inverted) would have a low-ohmic coating that would have to be very robust--- not something a DIY'er could repair if they ever needed it. I'm sure Essence would stand behind them but we never know how long a company will be around these days.
BTW, what woofers did you have in mind for those OB servo subs?
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Essence is based out of St Petersburg, Florida.
Who out there in Planar Land is local? We need a volunteer from the audience to take a road trip.
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Essence is based out of St Petersburg, Florida.
Who out there in Planar Land is local? We need a volunteer from the audience to take a road trip.
I'll be in that area at the end of June. I'll try to set something up for a demo then. Someone remind me closer to the last week of June.
Greg
PS. I heard the Final speakers years ago at a CES convention and was impressed, but it was a quick demo with only a few minutes of my own material.
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Essence is based out of St Petersburg, Florida.
Who out there in Planar Land is local? We need a volunteer from the audience to take a road trip.
Not exactly local (about 170 miles) but at some point if I get over that way, I'll try to see if I can incorporate a visit if they are equipped.
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Phil & studiotech,
I hope you guys get a chance to evaluate Essence ESL. I have had a few email exchanges with Bob Rappoport. He has been quite open and helpful in his recommendations. I asked about the differences between the two different models. The speakers have identical frequency response. The 1600 is 1 DB more efficient. The primary advantage of the 1600 is that it fits bigger rooms better. If you listen to speakers both standing and sitting then the 1600 is for you. They can be wall mounted, both models.
I'm not certain if the speakers are an inverted design. I think they are a conventional ESL. The stators are printed with a conductive ink type material on their insides. I think the diaphragm has a similar treatment. There are no sprayed surfaces so the conductive coatings can be very precisely applied. I asked a couple of questions about the transformer windings and stator spacing, and Bob will get back to me on them. There is no question that this approach is revolutionary. Bob says that the design is quite robust. He plays them pretty hard. There is a three year warranty.
The only negatives as far as I can tell are that there is no trial period. To keep costs low if you buy it, you own it. Replacement for broken at delivery only. I also would like to consider wall hanging the speakers, and wonder if they need much space behind them. If they can play well hanging on a bracket, the 1200 would be damn near perfect for me. I could save a couple of hundred bucks, and the seated or standing listening problem would be solved. Add servo subwoofers, and wow..
steve
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Jazzman 53 wrote:
BTW, what woofers did you have in mind for those OB servo subs?
H or W frame OB servo subs. Rythmik Audio (Brian) moved here to Austin a few years ago. Check out his site:
http://www.rythmikaudio.com/products.html He sells the servo amps, servo drivers and completed sealed and ported units and he sells the GR Research servo driver designed for OB applications.
GR Research (Danny) sells Brian's servo amps and GR's servo drivers:
http://gr-research.com/sw-12-08fr.aspx
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Have any of our Florida friends arranged for a listen to the Essence brand? Just curious.
steve
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Have any of our Florida friends arranged for a listen to the Essence brand? Just curious.
steve
I have not as yet. I met up with a couple of guys from the Sun Coast Audio Society (Tampa area - I'm in the Space Coast Audio Society - basically central East Coast and towards Orlando) and one indicated he would arrange a field trip. That was a couple of weeks back. I'll be following up and probably sometime one way or another over the next couple of months try to make my way over there.
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If you borrow a fast motorcycle with a radar detector you could probably get there in around 2 1/2 hours which will include a gas, smoke and quick cup of coffee break.
Watch out for deer and cars driven by texting kids with lots of facial piercings!
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If you borrow a fast motorcycle with a radar detector you could probably get there in around 2 1/2 hours which will include a gas, smoke and quick cup of coffee break.
Watch out for deer and cars driven by texting kids with lots of facial piercings!
It's not too bad. I went to the one guy's house who bought Vapor Speakers and that was probably a drop further. I'll skip the motorcycle and the smoke but the coffee break is OK. I'm old and retired now. So if I need to stay over I get those AARP rates.
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Phil, What did you think about the Vapor speakers? I heard the Joule Blacks at 2014 RMAF and ranked the room in top 3 I heard.
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Phil, What did you think about the Vapor speakers? I heard the Joule Blacks at 2014 RMAF and ranked the room in top 3 I heard.
I loved them. Really great speakers with an outstanding fit and finish. The pic I took my iPhone below does not even do them justice.
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=120732)
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Anyone near Salem, Virginia? Uptown Audio has a pair (currently on eBay) for $995 although I don't know if that has a reserve on it or not. NO returns, no warranty so you'd really want to hear them in person. The seller says they're making funny swishing noises that you can only hear when the music isn't playing so I don't know what's up with that. They might be props from the movie Poltergeist?
We all know that didn't end well but YMMV.
If anyone would be willing to swing by and give a listen and post a review it would be great.
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Here's the link - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Essence-Electrostatic-Speakers-model-1200-Black-Silver-Martin-Logan-sound-/261932874345?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cfc6a7a69
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"These have some noise at low level from the electrostatic elements when plugged into the wall."
That does not sound good. I know nothing about the technology of this particular electrostat, but the only acceptable noise is no noise.
Humidity? Who knows?
Love to hear them, but I would have to make up a helatious story to be able to drive to Salem, Va. :)
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Aw c'mon guys. Somebody's got to give those Essence speakers a listen. I can't. I have to save to repair the Quad 989s. I'm on the left side of the country too. 8)
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310 miles from me so nope.
They're down by Roanoke, VA which is Blue Ridge Parkway country.
I have to save my vacation time for sinus surgery (what fun)!
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I have to save my vacation time for sinus surgery (what fun)!
Yes - that's fun - had sinus surgery in October
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310 miles from me so nope.
They're down by Roanoke, VA which is Blue Ridge Parkway country.
I'll touch base with the guys in the Tampa area after July 4 to see if they want to take a ride to Essence. If not maybe I'll take a day and head over. It's probably around a bit more than 2.5 hrs. one way for me.
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FWIW: I asked the guy who is selling the Essences on Ebay about the noise and the relative humidity in his shop.
The noise comes and goes, and the humidity could be the problem.
to wit: Does the noise the speakers are making continue if the speakers are left on for a couple of days?
Is the humidity in your store higher than 50 percent?
Answer: Yes, the noise comes and goes. Humidity is higher than 50% much of the time.
I could very well be that there is nothing wrong here.
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I guess it depends on the design of the panels - http://www.martinlogan.com/learn/faq-electrostatic.php
"I have been advised that electrostatics do not fare well in the long term in the humidity of our tropical climate. Is this true?
We should tell you that MartinLogan indeed has a very substantial number of customers in tropical regions of the world. Our speakers have been serving them nicely for many years. This concern may have come from our earlier design of speakers, which were charged continuously.
Since 1993, all of our speakers have been designed so that they only charge the panel while music is being played. This improvement has made a tremendous difference in the consistent performance of our product. There may be a little more maintenance involved in humid regions when not in an air-conditioned environment. Simply enough, the concern is to keep the electrostatic panels dust free. Humidity will combine with any dust on the panel to make it slightly conductive. This will result in a slight pathway for the charge to leave the membrane of the speaker. The solution is simple. They only require occasional vacuuming with a strong vacuum hose."
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Hopefully I'll get to visit Essence sometime in the near future (assuming they are able to handle visitors in FL) and if I remember I'll ask.
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Yes - that's fun - had sinus surgery in October
Actually I am going down there next week (Roanoke). I live in Richmond but my elderly in-laws live between Roanoke and Salem. If they are open I'll pop in and report.
I've also had three sinus operations over the course of my 58 years...small world I guess.
Jay
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Great, please do.
This will be my second sinus surgery in 20 years. These infections just get harder to shake the older I get unless I can heal myself between now and July 20th. It took out a tooth and the oral surgeon dug away either into or too close to the sinus and now there's a tunnel which won't close up. Curses sez me.
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Great, please do.
This will be my second sinus surgery in 20 years. These infections just get harder to shake the older I get unless I can heal myself between now and July 20th. It took out a tooth and the oral surgeon dug away either into or too close to the sinus and now there's a tunnel which won't close up. Curses sez me.
That sucks. Good luck. My sinus' are too low too. I had it lifted on one side for a dental implant about 4 years back and had a polyp on the other side that wouldn't allow it to be lifted so it had to come out. Hopefully that will allow an implant in several months.
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Well, not to hijack the thread's orignal intent, but sinuses are notoriously challenging for doctors.
Even though I've had three operations in an attempt to get my chronic sinusitus under control (which led to 6 or 7 serious infections a year), turns out the most effective treatment in my case was to quite smoking (15 years ago), get serious about rinsing my sinuses every night with a atomizer and start taking allergy shots (10 years ago). Combined effect was to reduce infections to only once or twice a year.......
Anyhow, good luck--
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Just a bump. Have any of you guys had the opportunity to audition the Essence ESLs?
steve
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Just a bump. Have any of you guys had the opportunity to audition the Essence ESLs?
steve
I sent a couple of guys an email about arranging a visit. I'll follow up on it in a few weeks
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Thanks Phil. I know that when I've asked Essence a couple of questions, I occasionally had to send a second email. Bob is a busy guy and probably needs a reminder once in a while. I know I do. I suspect that they will enjoy having an experienced audiophile post his impressions.
Steve
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I have not communicated with Essence. The couple of guys I communicated with live closer to their location. If I don't hear back from them in a few weeks, I'll try making my own arrangements.
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WOW! :o Steven R. Rochlin , Editor of Enjoy The Music has some of these Essence speakers and Essence class D amps in his system now....they must be really GOOD!! :bowdown:
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WOW! :o Steven R. Rochlin , Editor of Enjoy The Music has some of these Essence speakers and Essence class D amps in his system now....they must be really GOOD!! :bowdown:
I've had the Essence amp for a few months and owned the HDACC for a year or two. My comments are this: the HDACC is a great DAC for the money. If you need any more information, lets talk via PM.
I'd still be curious to hear the speakers though.
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I was browsing around and saw the Class D Audio SDS series amplifiers. It looks like the Essence is a rebadged version of the SDS. Rear panels are absolutely identical.
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I've had the Essence amp for a few months and owned the HDACC for a year or two. My comments are this: the HDACC is a great DAC for the money. If you need any more information, lets talk via PM.
I'd still be curious to hear the speakers though.
Maybe Steven will do a review on these Essence speakers soon...
I also found out that the Essence model 1900's won't be coming out until.. 2016, next summer. I found out about this on their facebook page.
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I've had the Essence amp for a few months and owned the HDACC for a year or two. My comments are this: the HDACC is a great DAC for the money. If you need any more information, lets talk via PM.
I'd still be curious to hear the speakers though.
Some one else that owns this Essence gear says they sound like really good Tube gear :) on their facebook page below >>>
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Essence/161639017357514
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I bought the HDAC. It's very good. Only two quibbles with it. The remote is the size of a car remote. I mean it's small. The other is that my cable box and the HDAC must operate on a similar frequency. The cable box channel selector often raises or lowers the volume of the HDAC?Annoying but not a fatal flaw.
It doesn't sound like most tube units though. It's better than that.
I'm still trying to learn more about the speakers. My three big questions:
Is Essence using the Finial inverted ESL method instead of conventional practice?
Is Essence using a single or dual winding transformer design?
Is there insulation between diaphragms and Stators?
I'd appreciate any answers from those in the know.
steve
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I bought the HDAC. It's very good. Only two quibbles with it. The remote is the size of a car remote. I mean it's small. The other is that my cable box and the HDAC must operate on a similar frequency. The cable box channel selector often raises or lowers the volume of the HDAC?Annoying but not a fatal flaw.
It doesn't sound like most tube units though. It's better than that.
I'm still trying to learn more about the speakers. My three big questions:
Is Essence using the Finial inverted ESL method instead of conventional practice?
Is Essence using a single or dual winding transformer design?
Is there insulation between diaphragms and Stators?
I'd appreciate any answers from those in the know.
steve
Hi Steve
I asked those questions on Essence's facebook page and this is what Bob told me there.
No, we do not use the Final invented method, however we invented a new approach to generating the electrostatic field using "printed electronics" , with high defintion ink-jet printing layering coats of conductive inks on the inside surface of the world's first acrylic stators.
The transformer is single winding.
There is no insulation between the stators and diaphragm but the spacers are cleverly tapered to increase the excursion, extending the bass output down to below 50 Hz.
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Crossoverless.
Thanks for the answers.
I had asked Bob a couple of them in an email. He said he would get back to me. I'm surprised that the stators have no protection against arcing. Other than that it seems to be a clever design. Printing the conductive material increases consistency. Im told that good old fine graphite is still the most effective, but getting it right all over a diaphragm has to be a tough one.
Steve
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If the spacers are tapered to vary the d/s (stator to diaphram spacing), then the printed stator conductors would have to be electrically segmented to limit the bass to only the areas having the greater d/s. If there is only a single transformer, then the segmentation is probably done via a series resistor network, like was done in the Quad 63 ESL. It would be interesting to find out how Essence implements the segmentation.
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Someone did testing on the Essence Model 1600, all the measurements can be found here >>> "Click on picture to enlarge"
http://www.princeton.edu/3D3A/Directivity/Essence%20Electrostatic%20Model%201600/index_H.html
And Here too >>>
http://www.princeton.edu/3D3A/Directivity/Essence%20Electrostatic%20Model%201600/index_DI.html
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Home Theater Shack is going to be doing a review on the Essence Model 1200 sometime in August of this year , right here in this thread below :D >>>
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/speaker-subwoofer-reviews/
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/home-theater-audio-video-news/121793-essence-eliminates-dealers-cut-prices-its-electrostatic-speakers-model-1200-model-1600-a.html
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Should be interesting.
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Here's the Rankings of the Best Measurements of the Frontal Horizontal Directivity of the other Top High End speakers >>>
http://www.princeton.edu/3D3A/Directivity.html
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FWIW, Walter of Underwoodhifi had a pair in his own house for some amount of time I do believe. Now that Essence is internet direct and he's no longer selling them I don't know how much of an opinion he might offer. But Walter has always been straight with me and I know he could (would??) offer you a review (pros and cons) via a phone call.
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All I can say is fascinating.
I'd be curious to see plots of Linkwitz' current offerings, and a full range line source for comparison's sake. I don't expect that any of the round horns or single driver type designs would do as well in a "normal" room as they do in the chamber.
Roger Sanders builds a heck of a speaker, doesn't he? And that's his smaller one. If any more plots of other planar speakers are published, I'd love to see them.
steve
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btw - had someone follow-up with Essence today. He (Bob) does not have any of the speakers in his house (which he works out of) at this time. Just sold his last pair. He is going to let us know when he has them back so we can take a trip over there and give a listen.
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Thanks Phil,
Since production is supposedly from the Netherlands, and Europe is the primary market, it could be several weeks until any are available. Bob has made a mistake in not keeping a pair on hand for demonstrating.
steve
PS: I wonder how many are imported at a time? A container?
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Thanks Phil,
Bob has made a mistake in not keeping a pair on hand for demonstrating.
steve
I agree (and I'd think that he would have a system with them all the time - even I have multiple systems and I'm not an audio dealer/distributor for anything). I sent the info to another Space Coast Audio Society member about a couple of weeks back (I know he would be up for a listen) and he called me today to tell me he had a business meeting in Tampa (which is a ride for us but not all far from Essence) and wanted to know if I would go and hang out for a couple of hours and then we would go to listen to them. I advised him to ask if they had a pair for demo and what music formats he could support. He then emailed me that there was not a pair on hand.
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No sense in going there to look at where the speakers USED to be!
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He's not the only one to do that. I have a buddy who builds speakers and sells them online. Until recently, he rarely was set up to demo.
Bob needs a lot of word of mouth promotion as he hasn't been to shows, or participated in forums. If his speakers are good, especially at a price point, he will do fine, but he's losing sales now. His competition isn't King Sound, Martin-Logan, Quad, Sanders Sound, or Soundlab. Those ESL brands are well established. Their clientele will use and recommend their wares. He is up against Magnepan, and other planar magnetic brands. People who probably would buy MMGs up to 1.7i are his potential sales. If I were launching a new concept, I'd run a tour. Getting in front of friendly groups like this one could bring strong reviews, and also recommendations to improve the product. I keep calling Essence the best speaker nobody's heard of. That's my take.
steve
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I would say a Planar Shoot Out is in order.
How do they stack up against the other flat boys?
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He's not the only one to do that. I have a buddy who builds speakers and sells them online. Until recently, he rarely was set up to demo.
Bob needs a lot of word of mouth promotion as he hasn't been to shows, or participated in forums. If his speakers are good, especially at a price point, he will do fine, but he's losing sales now.
steve
I agree. Was going to go tomorrow. When he has them back in, I'll also ask what media he can play so I can bring something to hear. If he wants to bring them to my place when I have a Space Coast Audio Society get together, I can probably swap out speakers I have in a secondary system (like Ohm Microwalsh Talls) so people can hear something to A/B against. I don't know if this was just unusually bad timing but to me if it isn't, he is not all that serious. The guy who was going to go with me is not in the market this second but he is really serious and a potential buyer. I just lent him a preamp to try and as soon as he gets a few things squared away (like a preamp and he has two sets of Monoblock amps and I have to help set-up his Rel sub), I can honestly see him making a move down the road. If a demo isn't available in the near term (like a couple of months), I'm sure that is not going to encourage his interest.
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A flat panel shootouts. Great idea especially in the $2K range. Maggie 1.7, Essence ESL, and how about a commercial open baffle. Maybe even get a small Linkwitz speaker. That would make for a phenomenal audio society meeting.
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I asked Bob a question about flat panel electrostatics having a narrow sweet spot and this is what Bob told me :o
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=399617840226296&id=161639017357514&comment_id=407429846111762¬if_t=feed_comment
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I asked Bob a question about flat panel electrostatics having a narrow sweet spot and this is what Bob told me :o
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=399617840226296&id=161639017357514&comment_id=407429846111762¬if_t=feed_comment
The reply is correct but I suspect it didn’t answer the question you had in mind. Technically, all speakers have an infinitely small sweet spot but you hardly notice it with wide dispersion speakers. Flat panels, on the other hand, project a planar wave front which becomes increasingly directional for wavelengths shorter than the panel’s width—giving a sweet spot that’s so pronounced you have to hear it to appreciate just how much. Wide flat panels give amzingly precise imaging at their focus but the highs fall off a cliff as you move out of the sweet spot --- wonderful for solo listening not so much for entertaining guests.
I may be wrong about the Essence panels but from the posted photos they look to be physically segmented and I would guess they are electrically segmented as well. If electrically segmented, the higher frequencies would be emitted from the narrow vertical section only, while lower frequencies would be emitted from the wider sections-- such that the highs spread out to give a wider sweet spot than you could get with an un-segmented panel of same width.
My own 10.5” wide DIY wire-stator ESL panels are physically segmented into eleven discrete 12-wire groups which are then electrically segmented as six discrete groups (a center group + 5 paired groups on either side). My panels can be electrically switched for narrow or wide dispersion modes via feeding the wire groups discreetly thru a resistor/capacitor delay line (as Quad with their ESL63).
In the narrow dispersion mode all wire groups receive the same audio signals at the same time; causing the diaphragm to project a planar wave front that doesn’t spread out. In the wide dispersion mode, the delay line is switched into the signal path such that the center wire group receives a full-frequency signal and adjacent wire-groups receive sequentially delayed signals having progressively less treble; causing the diaphragm to move from the center-outward to project a cylindrical wave front that spreads out to a much wider sweet spot.
If you have an opportunity, you might ask Bob if the Essence panels are electrically segmented.
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The reply is correct but I suspect it didn’t answer the question you had in mind. Technically, all speakers have an infinitely small sweet spot but you hardly notice it with wide dispersion speakers. Flat panels, on the other hand, project a planar wave front which becomes increasingly directional for wavelengths shorter than the panel’s width—giving a sweet spot that’s so pronounced you have to hear it to appreciate just how much. Wide flat panels give amzingly precise imaging at their focus but the highs fall off a cliff as you move out of the sweet spot --- wonderful for solo listening not so much for entertaining guests.
I may be wrong about the Essence panels but from the posted photos they look to be physically segmented and I would guess they are electrically segmented as well. If electrically segmented, the higher frequencies would be emitted from the narrow vertical section only, while lower frequencies would be emitted from the wider sections-- such that the highs spread out to give a wider sweet spot than you could get with an un-segmented panel of same width.
My own 10.5” wide DIY wire-stator ESL panels are physically segmented into eleven discrete 12-wire groups which are then electrically segmented as six discrete groups (a center group + 5 paired groups on either side). My panels can be electrically switched for narrow or wide dispersion modes via feeding the wire groups discreetly thru a resistor/capacitor delay line (as Quad with their ESL63).
In the narrow dispersion mode all wire groups receive the same audio signals at the same time; causing the diaphragm to project a planar wave front that doesn’t spread out. In the wide dispersion mode, the delay line is switched into the signal path such that the center wire group receives a full-frequency signal and adjacent wire-groups receive sequentially delayed signals having progressively less treble; causing the diaphragm to move from the center-outward to project a cylindrical wave front that spreads out to a much wider sweet spot.
If you have an opportunity, you might ask Bob if the Essence panels are electrically segmented.
No, the panels are not electrically segmented.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=407552039432876&id=161639017357514
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Even so, the design is certainly innovative and intriguing.
The photos appear to show vertical spacers in the panel which would physically segment the diaphragm into discreet mechanical sections, graduating from wide to narrow. And the literature states that the spacers are tapered so as to taper the diaphragm-to-stator spacing (d/s). The narrow sections no doubt are the areas with the smallest d/s. Whereas the wider sections of greater d/s are optimized for bass, the narrow sections are optimized for treble.
Considering that field strength falls off quadratically with increasing d/s (halving the d/s gives 4X greater sound output), the narrow/close d/s segments would project treble energy with very high efficiency compared to the wider less treble-efficient sections. And the greater treble projecting froom the narrow sections (being less wide than the treble wavelengths and less constricted by the much weaker treble output from adjacent wide sections) would tend to spread out more so than would occur with conventional unsegmented flat panel.
I will speculate that, in effect, the Essence panels are to some degree acoustically segmented and may thus be somewhat less directional than a conventional flat panel of same width. In any case, the Essence is very impressive; especially considering their slow price.
I would love to audition them.
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Here's a video on how Essence prints the circuit path on the Essence Electrostats >>Look what Bob says about this below the video there....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7ZzV1iDRE&feature=youtu.be
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But what is being printed? Was that a stator? A diaphragm? Why different layers for pos and neg? They are making my head hurt. I get they are using inks for conducting, but what do the stators look like? How are they spaced? Until one of our forum friends gets to audition a pair, we won't know. If Bob doesn't keep a sample pair around, and members get to "kick the tires" nobody is going to buy them.
Edit: I forgot to add "friendly rant over." I just wish the speakers were available for hands on experience.