Acoustat Monitors?

[E-Stat]

I've checked with Rockford Fosgate, and they no longer have schematics for them, so I'm hoping for an alternative.to help correct the directionality problem, I used a Carver Holographic Preamp, which helped quite a lot. Thanks, Larry Yag

Agree that you should start your own post, but I'll start off here.

I have owned several different Acoustat models since purchasing a pair of the original model X like yours in 1977. And currently use 1+1s in the HT. I had the good fortune of meeting the designer Jim Strickland when he brought a pair to Absolute Sound reviewer JWC a year earlier.

Beaming has always been a challenge with Acoustats to some degree. Having owned one, two, three and four panel across models, I find the least objectionable flavor is the first. My current pair stacks one panel above the other. Precise positioning helps as does a bit of toe in and allowing a fair amount of distance to listening position. I helped install a pair in college at a home in Atlanta that had a very large living room where the results were very good.

 

[bimasta]

I had the X's. They were cheap thrift shop purchases, and I could never get the tube amps to work properly.

I also had the tall 2+2's. They worked beautifully, and the partnering Acoustat amp was a perfect match. I tried the Quad 405 amp, but it was thin and feeble.

I also had stacked Quad 57's at the same time as the 2+2's. The Acoustats killed the Quads when it came to Bass, and SPL's. But they did so at a price...

To achieve louder louds and deeper bass, Acoustat put the diaphragms farther away from the stators. This way, the diaphragms could travel farther without hitting the stators, whereas the Quads, if played too loud, would cause the diaphragms to strike the stators — there'd be a bright flash as the diaphragm arced, and a hole would be burned in the diaphragm. This only seemed to happen to the Treble (Middle) panel. That hole would continue to arc, and the Treble panel was ruined.

The Acoustats, on the other hand, were like "long throw" panels — no matter how hard I drove them, I didn't damage them.

But their resolution was pathetic next to the Quads. Compared side by side, there was an entire universe of midrange and treble detail missing from the Acoustats. As a result, they didn't do subtlety, nuance, ambience, and other qualities the Quads delivered in abundance.

Though the Acoustats suffered by comparison, judged in isolation they were spectacular.

 

[E-Stat]

But they did so at a price...

There is one brand that blends the best of both worlds.

http://www.estatsolution.com/index.html

 

[bimasta]

^ ^ Soundlab?

I'd also say the Quad 63's reconciled some of the differences — and with suitable subs (Gradient, or Audio Pro) are near ideal. I haven't heard any of the Quads made after the 63's.

 

[JoeESP9]

Get in touch with Roy Esposito (ex. Acoustat Engineer). He's the go to guy for Acoustat questions.

 

[E-Stat]

Soundlab?

Correct. I have the seven foot tall metal framed U-1 flavor now called the U-745 which weigh more than 200 lbs each. They have no trouble handling lots of power. I use 300 watt mono tube amps. Like the Acoustats, they are also full range electrostats as opposed to electrostats that operate full range like the Quad 57 with separate woofer/midrange and tweeter panels. Note that only the midrange/bass panels flanking the tweeter panel were dipolar.

While I agree with your earlier observations about the superior transparency of the Quads to Acoustat, I'll differ as to why: diaphragm thickness and electronics. Part of the reason why Acoustats are so dang durable is they are 17 microns thick whereas the original Quads had 12 micron woofer panels and 6 micron tweeters. Soundlab uses 2.5 micron.

Speaking of Roy, I had my interfaces for the 1+1s modified by him including his "air" modification which improved transparency from earlier versions. It bypasses the HV wire wound tweeter attenuator with a fixed value high quality resistor. You may recall there were at least three variations of the original Acoustat MK-121 interface. Base, Blue Medallion and Red Medallion.