[Dsmith941]

Hello, I am a music lover in SW Florida, not in the industry except as a consumer.  Retired acoustical engineer and now doing piano service and rebuilding as a retirement career.   I have Magnepan 3.7's with Sanders Magtech and Vandersteen subs in a Jriver based system.  Just recently moved to a smaller home and think the Maggie's are a little too difficult to integrate into my space now that it's smaller than before.  Love the sound of planar speakers and am considering Roger Sanders' Eletrostats.  Would like to talk with anyone who owns these speakers and compare notes.   

I love the Maggies but loved them more when my listening room was larger (now 15x20 in an open plan house).

I've spent time trying to integrate the Maggies into this room, to integrate then with the Vandersteen subs, and have even bought and experimented with the Acourate Room Correction program from Germany.

I'm considering the Sanders 10e Electrostatic speakers in the hope that I can get the PANELS OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM, to quote my wife.   Also I've been really impressed with Roger's interaction and his help with problems not even related to my Magtech amp. 

Would love to talk to owners of Sanders Electrostatic speakers, either in this forum or just private message me.
I've no axe to grind, just running our of time to enjoy the music at 70 years young!

Dave

[Jazzman53]

Hi Dave,
I’ve spoken with Roger Sanders a few times by phone and I agree with you regarding his knowledge and character.  His help and encouragement were boundless on my ESL journey. 

I’ve not heard the Sanders 10c speaker but I will comment anyway, since no one else has spoken up and  I do have some experience with bi-amplified flat panel hybrid electrostats mated to transmission line woofers (very similar setup). 

I wager the Sanders model 10c gives jaw-dropping clarity and imaging in the focal sweet spot, with the blending between woofer and stat panel being more seamless than other hybrid ESL’s.   
 
No doubt their wide flat panels project a precise image to a sweet spot so narrow and pronounced that you’d have to hear it to believe it.  The upside is superior coherency and imaging and good slam.  The downside is the “head-in-a-vise” sweet spot; which is wonderful for solo listening at the focus but not so much for entertaining guests.

My current speakers use wider dispersion, segmented wire panels which eliminate the head-in-vise effect and sound wonderful.  But I must confess that I sometimes miss the spooky imaging that you can only get from an un-segmented flat panel (like the Sanders model 10).
 
Jazz                 

[bummrush]

Not affiliated with Sanders,just somewhat with Coda,which i know is connected to Sandrrsown stuff,like Sandrrs pre amps.I have a Oldrr Coda windows pre amp which apart from whatever is different in Sand r rs pre amps they are probably more alike then diffrrent,what im trying to say is Whether Coda or Sanders, its very good equipment.

[jhm731]

New model shown at Axpona, from TAS report:

"Like its recent forbears, the Sanders Model 10E ($17,000) mates a single (non-segmented) electrostatic panel with a transmission line-loaded dynamic bass driver. As previously, the package includes a digital electronic crossover and the Colorado company’s own Magtech amplifier. What’s new is DSP room correction. The Sanders “Loudspeaker Management System” comprises the room-correction software, a “Real Time Analyzer” that measures the frequency response of the speaker in the room, and the digital crossover—no outboard computer is required for implementation. A short audition was very impressive in transparency, speed, and dynamics. Imaging was practically tactile and, in the hostile environment of a hotel room, bass was well controlled."

[jsm71]

Hi Dave,

I was a prior Maggie 1.7 owner mated with the Magtech (killer amp for Maggies) and loved them but was thinking ahead to a retirement space where "out in the room" speakers might not play.  I haven't owned Roger's speakers but have heard them on numerous occasions and really wanted to get into ESLs.  Roger's speakers really got me thinking, they sound that good, but they were just another out in the room dipole so they never got any further consideration.

I now own and am in love with David Janszen's zA2.1 ESLs.  I also keep contact online with a number of other JansZen zA2.1 owners.  It is surprising how many of us are ex-Maggie owners in addition to other ESLs in some cases.  The JansZens are a sealed front firing hybrid ESL that sound best when placed less than two feet away from the wall.  They are also much smaller than Maggies and are quite attractive.  Your wife would approve, mine does.

Worth consideration I believe if you don't want to compromise sound or wrestle with placement/visual issues.  The JansZens are amazing speakers, but you have to hear them set up with your gear in your room.  Show conditions sadly have not shown these off the best.  Ask other others about their experience.  There are a few accounts on this site.  BTW, the Magtech didn't bring any charm to the JansZens.  I sold it which is easy since its a great amp.  I and many others run a tube amp today which really does the trick.  Again, that's just opinion but I'm not alone in that.

Scott

[Pryso]

Hi Dave,

I've heard Sanders' systems a few times and hold him in high regard for both his knowledge and straightforward responses.  In my experience his speakers are more critical with listening position than even Maggies.  That can be good news or bad, depending on your situation.  The narrow beaming means they may be less affected by side wall reflections (thus better clarity with less reflected side wall smearing) but a more narrow sweet spot so few options for listening position.  Notice that in all his demos he aligns chairs along a single seat per row lineups, no width in placement.

But your wife's concerns for "middle of the room" placement can apply to most panel speakers for optimum performance.  Being dipoles, distance from the front wall is critical unless specific dispersion is employed.  Unless at least 5' out, or with such dispersion treatments, front wall reflections will tend to follow on with the direct sound from the front of the panels and smear the sonics with reduced resolution.

So as I see it, you have two choices.  Either employ appropriate dispersion on your front wall behind your dipoles to accommodate closer placement or try speakers such as the Janszen zA2.1 which offer electrostatic resolution without the rear wave projection issues.

[SwamisCat]

I heard them at AXPONA last week and they were phenomenal. Great imaging, depth, sound staging and bass. MUCH better than in prior years. The Sanders reps agreed and attributed it to the brand new speaker management system.

Do not that they had them set up in a cross corner configuration which would be unlikely to work well in many homes.

[jimdgoulding]

Heard them a couple of times at a friend's house with a top shelf front end and amplification.  There were terrific and made me sad over the lose of my Acoustat Three's.

[Dsmith941]

Thanks to all who replied and to those who contacted me privately.  I have learned a lot from your experience and really appreciate it. 

Dave

[Pneumonic]

Hi, Dave. Did you end up buying the 10e's?

[Dsmith941]

Yes we did get the Sanders 10e speakers et al.  I already had a single Magtech amp.  My wife and I went to visit Mr Sanders at his business in Colorado.   She went into the meeting skeptical  but came out saying Wow.  Took our favorite tracks and heard them like never before. 

The speakers have been initially placed back within a foot or so of the wall, and after doing the room correction, I find the sound to be wonderful.  I found that I dialed back the sub volume setting a even more than his initial settings and have a smooth, responsive musical bass to go with the ESL mids and highs.    Soundstage is wide and like a live performance!

In short, we are so happy we made this decision to upgrade.  Life is short, why not enjoy it!

The maggies were quite nice in this room but had to be placed out into the room so far as to be obtrusive in our new smaller room.   They and my Vandersteen subs are for sale on Audiogon as we speak .

Thanks for following up, I had forgotten to close the subject out here in Audiocircle.   
DAve

[zuluwarrior0760]

I've heard Sanders at the RMAF show 3 times.......

Sitting in the middle chair, they sounded great.......

Then I had a friend travel all the way from Oklahoma to Georgia to
purchase a pair and when I went to his home to listen to them for
the first time, the experience was night and day from the shows.....

I noted those to be the single most beaming directional speakers
I had ever heard in my life........Now I've read each and everything
Sanders has ever spit out when it comes to directionality and that
it's the way he intended his speakers........but when the sweet spot
is a millimeter wide, it doesn't really make it practical for my enjoyment.....

My friend sold those speakers immediately and purchased the same speakers
you and I have, 3.7s   Neither of us would ever look back and neither of us
would ever consider a pair of Sanders Speakers.........