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Quad Listener Contemplating Horns

I have reemerged into this mad pursuit after a nine year hiatus, and just got my existing system back up and running (Crosby Quads, ARC SP-10, Classic 60, semi-tweaked Well-Tempered TT, Lyra Parnassus) after that many years (freshly gone over, retubed, TT readjusted, etc.)
The thing makes music, no doubt, but I'm still left with the complaint that I always had about this system, and earlier variants- the whole illusion seems to collapse on large scale pieces- not talking about volume here, but a combination of other things going on, including distortions that have to do with the overall spacing of the instruments- it is like the image is constricted even if the program content is not. (OK, enough of my psycho-babble).
Here's the question- I know that there is a long established school for horns, very low wattage tube amps. Need to know how liveable these systems are- not as a substitute, but in addition to, the more 'conventional' electrostatic system I'm running. I know I have some auditioning to do- I want to hear the Avantgarde speakers with the Lamms or Audio Notes, perhaps a Carey amp. I'll probably use the same front end, and at least for now, the SP-10 (which, by anybody's standards, may just be too noisy to tolerate over a system with a very low noise floor). I'm particularly interested in the insights from folks who use these types of systems as one among several-
128x128whart
914nut
100 posts
 
Lacee's proposed wiring scheme will actually result in TWICE the original (single) speaker impedance at the amp's terminals. His description is simply a classic series connection of the two speakers, in which the impedances are additive.

OTOH, a parallel connection (positive-to-positive/negative-to-negative)of the two speakers would result in HALF the original (single) impedance at the amp.
Jim
essentialaudio
1,147 posts
 
914nut, electrostatic loudspeakers tend to be capacitive loads, not just resistive. When you connect two identical capacitors end to end (in series) the resulting capacitance is half that of one of them, much as when you parallel resistors of the same value.
Brian
lacee
811 posts
 
How do you get twice the impedence?Maybe you are not reading me correctly. The impedence will remain the same if I wire 5 speakers this way.Remember the positive amplifier terminal goes to the positive terminal of the first Quad. The negative terminal of the last Quad goes to the negative terminal of the amp per channel.The negative channel of the first Quad goes to the positive of the second Quad.I don't know how you can wire a stacked pair and keep the impedence from varying any other way.
914nut
100 posts
 
Lacee:

(Please refer, also, to my reply to Essentialaudio.)

Do you actually think you can connect two, or "5", speakers in series and still end up with the impedance of the original single speaker? Regardless of the number of descriptions of your connection scheme, you're still proposing a simple series connection between the speakers.

Jim
914nut
100 posts
 
Essentialaudio:

You, of course, are correct. I overlooked the fact that the discussion was with regard to the use of Quad electrostatics.

My apologies.

Lacee:

My original point was, nevertheless, that the series connection you proposed, for two speakers---regardless of the nature of transduction---cannot possibly present the same load (as you asserted) as that presented by a single speaker of the same type, at least without internal mods. It may very well work to your satisfaction, but it still presents a different load at the amp's terminals, dependent upon the resistive/capacitive/inductive components of the speaker's impedance.

Jim
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