[bellicon]

I'm talking about these ESL kits from Rob Mackinlay
http://www.eraudio.com.au/index.html

Had you had any prior experience successfully building ESLs?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most difficult, how challenging was it to build the Acorns or the ESL lIIs?

So that I can make informed practical decisions about building one of these three ESLs-particularly the Acorns or the ESL IIIs-would you state your estimated listening room size?

And, using passive crossovers, what was the approximate minimum watts/per channel applied power where at 11 ft away you got  ?? db SPL at 35Hz from the Acorns or ESL IIls?

I ask this because the amp that I would prefer to use only does 25 wpc 8 ohms/40 wpc 4 ohms. I realize that it may appear ridiculous to think of using a low power amp as ESLs are hardly efficient speakers, like horns or some direct radiator drivers. But my room is ~ 16 ft x 14. And I’d only need 85db SPL at 35Hz, because between 70Hz to 7kHz I’d only want to listen between 55db and 50db SPL, respectively, as per the revised Fletcher-Munson curve.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher%E2%80%93Munson_curves

Based on those conditions, would my amplifier have enough power to drive the Acorns and/or ESL IIIs, without risk of clipping or much audible distortion?

On the other hand, if you chose to build the 505 mini panels and used one panel per channel, did you mount it above something like a 15 or 18” woofer in an H-Frame open baffle?

If yes, and again using passive crossovers, what was the minimum watts/per channel applied power where at 11 ft away you got  ?? db SPL at 35Hz?

It would certainly be great to hear one of Rob's ESLs before building them, though I’ve never heard of anyone who wasn’t amazed by their sound.

Any NY, NJ, CT, PA builders? 

Thanks to all for your input and experiences.

[JohnR]

Just as a matter of accuracy, the 505 is not a kit, it comes already assembled.

A friend of mine has built some of Rob's kits, from what I recall he didn't find it particularly difficult, you just need a clear workspace of the appropriate size. I'd wager that you could call Rob at a suitable time and have many of your questions answered.

[shooter]

I have built the esl3 kit a few years ago, they are fast, clean and very detail, a little lean when used by themselves definitely benefit with a sub, they do need a stable amp to drive them, I use a 100 watt amp to drive them at the time, there are report the 30w Pass amp can drive them pretty well.
Matter of fact I like it so much I bought a second kit at the time but I never build the second set and it is still in its crate, if you are interested I can sell it at a substantial discount.