Anyone familiar with Accustat speakers?

[katana1100]

I have always wanted a pair. Which ones are best, are there major differences through the years and what should I look for?

[DaveInVA]

I've owned every Acoustat model they made over the years. You have to have a decent size room to really enjoy them. Because they use plastic grids similar ro overhead fluorescent light panels and the sound has to fire through the deep grids it makes them more directional than ESL's made with perf metal stators. They are one person speakers because of that small sweet spot for serious listening. Like all electrostats they are sensitive to what amp and other equipment you drive them with. Look for ones that have the "Medallion" transformers. My favorite out of the bunch was the "2+2". My next favorite one was the 4. The later "Spectra" models had better dispersion and wider listening range.
That being said they are very nice sounding speakers that can sometimes be had fairly inexpensively. They are a bitch to repair if the stators fail as they are solvent glued together.
You will need a better than average subwoofer thats fast as its very hard to blend a heavy cone speaker with light weight ESL stators and make it entirely seamless.
I finally ended up building my own electrostats from scratch and have never looked back.

Dave

[katana1100]

How often do stators fail? What is the significance of the medallion transformer?
In my surround sound system, my sub is an old Infinity ssw 212, servo amp, dual 12" woofs in a sealed enclosure. Do you think that would qualify as fast?
I have a good sized living room with 12 rat shack LX5II's and would like to add a pair of Accustats for stereo listening. I'd have them driven by a Realistic 2100d receiver.

[DaveInVA]

The type of stators used in Acoustat's can last a very long time because of the solvent weld construction means the diaphragm tension is less likely to diminish over time with normal use compared to perf metal stators such as Martin Logan that uses teflon tape that can loose it grip over time.
However they can still be damaged by physical shock such as in shipping. Also they can be damaged by environment if they are improperly stored or in a heavy smoking area.
Even my homemade stators failed after a few years because the 3M Teflon tape went bad but at least I can reuse the metal stators.
The Medallion Interface upgrade on the Acoustats used higher quality step up transformers and better crossover capacitors. They do sound noticeably better.
As far as subs go you would just have to try the Infinity's and see how they sound together. Many people end up going with Dipolar or Ripole subs to get a good blend. Some people have have had great results using old Magnaplanar MGII's or SMG's minus the tweeter an crossing them over under 200 hz and using them as subs.


Dave

[Socal Sam]

...Some people have have had great results using old Magnaplanar MGII's or SMG's minus the tweeter an crossing them over under 200 hz and using them as subs.


Dave

LOL! Finally something Maggies are good for, IMO.

[Nakdoc]

I agree with Dave. Since you have Infinity subs, go for the older pure electrostat without the sub.

[DaveInVA]

If you use the Infinity subs it will probably work best set around 75-90 hz...

Dave

[Bob Boyer]

Sounds like you're headed towards one of the bigger 'stats, but I can vouch for nice sound from the Spectra 1100s. Ran them for three or four years before they got booted from the house by the better half.

Just what i needed at the time -an excuse to go spend money on the stereo...*grin*

Still, though, very nice sounding speakers with great imaging - IF you were the one person sitting in the sweet spot.