
Refurbishing Classic Quad Electrostatic Loudspeakers - drsheldoncooper
https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/refurbishing-classic-quad-electrostatic-loudspeakers
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dan-robertson
Electrostatic speakers seem like a great idea. Just like condenser microphones
can give better recordings (although it matters less with microphones as the
diaphragm is smaller).

Unfortunately they can be sensitive to the environment (pressure, humidity
etc), and require moving parts close together with a large difference in
potential between them, leading to a risk of short-circuiting, sparking, or
catching fire, and requiring much more technical expertise for maintenance.

Nevertheless they are reasonably commonly used for headphones in studios
(where there is mains power which is necessary). I think electrostatic
loudspeakers (requiring much more power than headphones) are very uncommon in
homes (although I suppose loudspeakers in general aren’t super common). Quad
still make electrostatic speakers as do other companies.

I wonder if this sort of speaker is used much in more commercial settings

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analog31
I googled for the response curve, and it's pretty impressive.

As I understand things, during the 50s, amplifier power was at a premium. 25
Watts was a lot! So it made sense to design highly efficient speakers, hence
the large radiating area of the Quad. Today, amplifier power is dirt cheap and
tiny, so you can throw a lot of power into a less efficient speaker, and still
get decent sound plus possibly better off-axis response in a multi-way system.
This gives the advantage to cone speakers.

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kristianp
I noticed a few days ago that Joey has a pair of Electrostatic speakers in his
apartment. These ones, apparently:

[https://www.martinlogan.com/en/product/aeriusi](https://www.martinlogan.com/en/product/aeriusi)

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voldacar
I'd heard of electrostatic headphones, but never seen the design turned into a
loudspeaker. Has anyone hear heard these or something similar to them?

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lancewiggs
I remember listening to these at someone’s dads place many many years ago.
Incomparable to anything else I’ve heard before or since.

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copperx
Incomparable in what way?

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Kaibeezy
onethingaudio.org - they are not kidding

