As a former dealer, we had pretty much every good speaker to listen to and compare to each other. After a couple of years of doing this with various electronics attached, we realized that all box speakers and electrostatic versions had some positive qualities when driven with quality electronics.
It was not until we hooked up Magnepan products that we finally realized that NO box or HORN or ELECTROSTATIC or RIBBON or any combination of these reproduced sound as accurately as Magnepan products. Some better than others, of course, and positioning is a key item--and VERY frustrating at times--but at the end of the day, no matter what we put next to them, Magnepans were more accurate.
Now, you may not LIKE accurate, so they are not for everyone. For example, if you prefer kick-a__ bass, you need Cerwin-Vega (in those days) or Hartley 24" woofers, etc. If you LOVE those shrill highs, you will love most electrostatic and/or ribbon models, etc.
This is what we discovered--no bias going in, but sure had some coming out. Not many people are fortunate enough to have access to 20 or 30 brands of speakers and quality electronics to drive them (we were what was called back then a "HIGH-END" shop) and had only the better items on the shelf. This is merely the result of our exploration.
By the way, the boxes that we felt were the "best" back then were Fulton 80's and especially 100's. Our college-day faves, Advents, were VERY, VERY INACCURATE, and the tweeters blew out at volume. We all learned a lot back then and I maintain that high quality tube electronics and Magnepan speakers can be dialed in to provide the most accurate music reproduction you can find. Once again, you may not like it, but play your personal favorite instrument live next to a system like this and all will be revealed.
Cheers!
It was not until we hooked up Magnepan products that we finally realized that NO box or HORN or ELECTROSTATIC or RIBBON or any combination of these reproduced sound as accurately as Magnepan products. Some better than others, of course, and positioning is a key item--and VERY frustrating at times--but at the end of the day, no matter what we put next to them, Magnepans were more accurate.
Now, you may not LIKE accurate, so they are not for everyone. For example, if you prefer kick-a__ bass, you need Cerwin-Vega (in those days) or Hartley 24" woofers, etc. If you LOVE those shrill highs, you will love most electrostatic and/or ribbon models, etc.
This is what we discovered--no bias going in, but sure had some coming out. Not many people are fortunate enough to have access to 20 or 30 brands of speakers and quality electronics to drive them (we were what was called back then a "HIGH-END" shop) and had only the better items on the shelf. This is merely the result of our exploration.
By the way, the boxes that we felt were the "best" back then were Fulton 80's and especially 100's. Our college-day faves, Advents, were VERY, VERY INACCURATE, and the tweeters blew out at volume. We all learned a lot back then and I maintain that high quality tube electronics and Magnepan speakers can be dialed in to provide the most accurate music reproduction you can find. Once again, you may not like it, but play your personal favorite instrument live next to a system like this and all will be revealed.
Cheers!