[BruceSB]

Everyone says that the sanders have a small sweet spot.
Not denying it is true,
BUT, ...
I had an extensive audition of them, and I moved as far as I could in every direction in the (fairly narrow) single seat listening chair and could not hear any difference.
I guess that it all comes down to what you are looking for and what sort of listening chair you use!!
Hope that helps.
Bruce

[Russell Dawkins]

Also, a narrow horizontal dispersion pattern does not necessarily imply a narrow sweet spot. If a speaker is directional, but holds its frequency response characteristics through the pattern as the level drops off, that can be used to advantage to allow a wider sweet spot than a speaker with perfect omnidirectional dispersion, popular urban myths surrounding this notwithstanding.
With a speaker with no roll off to the side as you get closer to the one side, as you do when you move to either side of the sweet spot, the image must collapse to that side, since the arrival time is earlier and that side is louder. With a directional speaker, as the arrival time gets earlier, the loudness diminishes to compensate because you are moving off axis.
This is all true, of course, only if you cross the axes of the speakers in front of the listening area - counter-intuitive as that is for many.

Every time I see speakers firing straight down the room (especially close to side walls, so you get a nice strong reflection) I cringe a little.

[Horizons]

I have owned almost every Maggie ever made. I have also owned three different ML models. Electrostats never sound real to me, transparent but not flesh on the bone real.

After 30 years of audiophile searching I only recently discovered that 90% of the magic of Maggies and MLs are the lack of a box. Take almost any cone driver and mount it to an open baffle panel and you will get about 90% of the Maggie sound at about 20% of the cost. You also gain efficiency, power handling, dynamics,and a more live sound than Maggies or MLs. Long story short - you should try to hear some open baffle speakers, they make MLs and Maggies overpriced and obsolete IMO.

Good luck.

[mr_bill]

Could you recommend some outstanding open baffle options?

[BruceSB]

The first open baffle planar that comes to mind is the Gilmore.
Here is the link
http://www.glacieraudio.com/new%20Glacier%20Audio%20Site/Products%20folder/Gilmore/Gilmoreaudio1.htm
The price has come down massively now they sell direct.
That great long ribbon looks mighty impressive!
I believe their amplifiers are pretty good too.
Hope that helps.
Bruce

[jaylevine]

IMHO and with all due respect, that is an ugly speaker. Pretty massive too, not sure that would fly any better than Maggie 3.7s in a normal sized room? Do they need to be away from the wall like Maggie's to sound their best?

[BruceSB]

I am an electrostatic guy.
Have been for the better part of 30 years and am likely to be into the future.
But, …
If I were to leave the stats I would be looking at a planar with a big long ribbon!
Not disagreeing about the looks: big, obtrusive, in your face!
Hey, that's what my wife says about my spectra 22s (as well as calling them coffins!)!
I think they require the usual planar away from the wall placement.
They look good value-wise.
There is probably someone here who has them and could make a comment on what they sound like!
Bruce

[bonzo75]

The best planar with a long ribbon I have heard is the analysis audio, modded crossovers. But Greg's GT audio at just over 6k is pretty close. I prefer both to Maggie's and Montis. I owned the summits.

[a.wayne]

Did you get the GT AUDIO ....... ?

[bonzo75]

Not yet, I am slow to move. Once I get the GT in London I will be stuck with them, I want to do some other playing around before committing. Right now I have a pair of Verity that I want to play with, and sell off before continuing the planar route

[berni]

Could you recommend some outstanding open baffle options?

Maybe some Soulsonic speakers.
I own 20.1 and a friend near me the Soulsonic Impulse , they do almost everything much better then my Maggies. I dont like the fact, but what can I do? Hehe
http://www.soulsonicspeakers.com/about.html

[bonzo75]

Hi, how much are these soul Sonics

[mr_bill]

I think $90k.
Not a fair comparison to Maggies - they should be better 

[bonzo75]

Have you heard the analysis amphityrons?

[berni]

I think $90k.
Not a fair comparison to Maggies - they should be better

Way less, the 100k $ price tag was set by hungry dealers when hearing them
for the first time and recognizing their potential.
But even the Impact model prices even lower sounds  perfect.

[josh358]

Could you recommend some outstanding open baffle options?

Don't forge the Linkwitz -- funny looking, but by all accounts superb! (And a great web site, too.)

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/

[josh358]

Everyone says that the sanders have a small sweet spot.
Not denying it is true,
BUT, ...
I had an extensive audition of them, and I moved as far as I could in every direction in the (fairly narrow) single seat listening chair and could not hear any difference.
I guess that it all comes down to what you are looking for and what sort of listening chair you use!!
Hope that helps.
Bruce

I've listened to and lived with small sweet spots, but any speakers sound best when you're center. However, there are other, frequently overlooked problems with limited dispersion. One is that the dispersion of a limited-dispersion speaker changes with wavelength. Since both on-axis response and uniform polar response are crucial to realism in the reproduction of acoustical instruments, it's hard to get such a speaker to sound realistic and I think this more than anything else is why many stats, despite their superior detail, don't sound as realistic as they should. Toole's research suggests that power response is critical to the perception of sound quality, but audiophiles (and many speaker manufacturers) tend to focus exclusive on on-axis response. Even with baffle step compensation, bBoxes can never sound right because they're cardioid in the mids and highs and omnidirectional in the bass. Stats, with their limited excursion, run into problems with driver width, as do optimistally-designed speakers in which the dispersion of the lower frequency driver narrows as one approaches each crossover point.

[SoCalWJS]

Since other brands are being thrown out, and there seems to have been a WAF originally...





Didn't get a chance to do critical listening, but they definitely made a good initial impression.

[Mike-48]

I'll add my voice as a fan of the JansZens. I bought a pair of the zA2.1 after auditioning Harbeth 30.1 and Aerial 7T, and the JanZens sounded least colored in my room. They are also nice looking.  They can be placed on the back wall but will probably sound better 2 to 3 feet out.

JansZen makes several models. The zA1.1 are smaller (stand-mounted) and should sound similar. There is also a powered version of the zA2.1 that seems quite cost-effective to me and that would free up some floor or rack space for further spouse approval.

In the past, I owned Apogees, so I know and like planar sound. When I auditioned Maggies (I'd better duck), I found they didn't come alive at low volumes, and that was a problem for me.  When I auditioned ML, I found they were beautiful but "wispy" sounding, somehow lacking in body. In a short demo of the Sanders, the low end was not at all even -- that may very well have been poor setup by the dealer. (Why can't most dealers be bothered to set up speakers properly? I've driven 4 hours for a demo appointment, only to have a $10k speaker played for me in a bare room.)  I don't claim to be an expert on Maggies, ML, or Sanders; those are brief audition notes from ~5 years ago.

So, to stress the positive:  I recommend you give the JansZens an extended listen! They are low-distortion and low-coloration, relatively easy to place and certainly easy to look at. David Janszen answers questions promptly and will help arrange an in-home trial.

Mike

(Edited to mention other models in JansZen line.)

[josh358]

When I auditioned Maggies (I'd better duck), I found they didn't come alive at low volumes, and that was a problem for me.

It isn't just you, though many say that the quasi ribbon models have improved on that.