Fostex GZ-2000 Four-Way Planar Speakers on Cam.

[totem]

Came across a listing for these seemingly rare Planar speakers in Ont Canada on Canuck audio mart.
Piqued my interest as far as not having seen these before and likely few to have actually
heard these.

No link as per rules but were they local would love to get a listen.

 

[swechsler]

Those are some impressive-looking towers. They could almost be a precursor to the Infinity IRS Gamma. And check out the mislabeling on the connections to the flat panels - should say output to rather than input from...translation error?

I'm also curious as to what "edgeless" woofers are. They look pretty conventional to me.

 

[RW Oliver]

These are not conventional woofers.Before Fostex, Philips made a 12" edgeless woofer--google Philips bombardon woofer. I have a Fostex 8" stripped down,if I get a chance(grand children are over) I will post pictures.

 

[totem]

RW glad you posted Im sure you have some further info to add.

 

[StephenJK]

Those are some impressive-looking towers. They could almost be a precursor to the Infinity IRS Gamma. And check out the mislabeling on the connections to the flat panels - should say output to rather than input from...translation error?

I'm also curious as to what "edgeless" woofers are. They look pretty conventional to me.

Those are my speakers! Or, they were, they've now gone to their new home in Winnipeg, where they came from many years ago. The "edgeless" woofer is a bit hard to see as being different from any other type but apart from a technical explanation what it means is there's no foam surround. The woofer has some type of poly material around the outer movable cone. The only thing I ever had to do was to snug up the bolts once in a while.

When I bought them in 1981 it was a choice between the planar's or the LS3 monitors - both were on demo at Oakwood Audio in Winnipeg. Both my wife and I favored the planars as they were very flat and neutral, perfect for classical music and ideal for any high quality recording. They worked well with the philosophy we've always had for any stereo system as "a straight wire with gain." For all the years that we owned them they never failed to reveal the smallest change in the music or with any equipment upgrade.

I've never heard Infinity speakers so can't comment on how they would compare to the Fostex.

Last summer I ended up rebuilding a 1976 pair of Klipschorns for a friend that I now own. In our open concept log home, the Khorns are far better able to throw a soundstage that the planars could ever do. The Khorns actually have a higher and deeper soundstage, although the transition between the drivers isn't quite as good as the planars - but then the planars are a four-way design.

I never believed in storing equipment that wasn't being used, and suspected that someone would appreciate the planars for the wonderful sound they have. I'll keep running with the Khorns for the next while. It's hard to tell in the pictures, but I have built corner walls to sit behind them so that the bass driver can radiate forward as intended. The walls are made from pine boards and wood paneling with a center core of SM rigid styrofoam that, with the high density gives a good sounding board without a lot of weight.

Stephen