What have you heard? What do you/have you own(ed)? Are they the pinnacle of speaker technology or more hat than cow?

Are all electrostats created equal, more or less, or are second hand Martin Logans really worth five times what a pair of decent maggies can be had for? Are they, in general, worth more than a conventional multi-driver speaker?

Thanks in advance!

My little opinion is only based in listen to some Quad and Apogee in audio shows.
IMHO, i always felt that they have a very distinctive sound but never go loud or deep. Not a speaker for rock music, but in all the other sound spectrum areas outperforms almost every other speaker. They throw a very wide sound stage, are also very accurate with awesome transient responce and have inherently very low levels of distortion.

Anyway, don't take my opinion very seriously because you know how it is in audio shows....the sound interaction with the listening rooms is always bad, and with these kind of speakers room treatment is a must.

my lone audition with stats mirrors clint's. very precise imaging and detail. its a super cool presentation of the sound, but it does have its limitations.

I had some at my place for a while. Fantastic with many types of music, but absolutely collapsed with heavily produced hard rock.

Not always, but often in need of bass reinforcement via a sub, and it must be a well-controlled sub, as bass needs to be quick to keep up with the near-instantaneous response of the planars.

Placement is extremely picky- and the sweet spot small.

However, the realism they lend to vocals, the strike of a drum, the ring of a symbal, the essence of a reed instrument- it's jaw-dropping.

If you can make them work in your space, you'll be in for a treat.




Ever hear an EMIT tweeter in an Infinity? Think that- but all over the spectrum/range.

i thought the big Infinity's like Mark B's IRS Delta's were another kind of animal. i was referring to JP's Flatline's as my lone encounter with stats, i guess with the IRS Delta's i've now had two. they were very different experiences though.

Very true Scott- I'm speaking very much in generalities.

I should clarify my statement- think quickness and detail.

and airiness/spaciousness around everything. its a very cool sound.

I went and listened to two pair of maggies today, advertised as "working fine", a pair of 1976 MG-I and a pair of 1986 SMGa. Unfortunately at higher volumes both pairs had one speaker that buzzed pretty good with anything below about 60 Hz. I wanted to take them home anyway but the owner felt that even "broken" they were worth his $200 a pair. I passed.

At lower volumes however I found them quite detailed with an airy soundstage. They loved Nora Jones and Diana Krall, not so big on Yes and Rusted Root. On the first two they seemed to carry female vocals very realistically and violin also sounded great. On the second two they sounded like small boombox speakers made by sony, etc. Flat, tiny, and completely unimpressive.

From what I heard there is no way they, even in good working order (IMHO), would replace either my ARs or Dahlquists, the speakers they most sounded like, but then again I know I was listening to a less than great pair of 30 year old speakers and I won't write off all electrostats on this first aquaintance. The search isn't over!

Thanks for all the feedback, guys.

i've heard Maggies that had no trouble pounding out rock at high volumes. i dont know where that pair falls into the Maggie pecking order so they could have been one of the bigger models over what you heard, but i do know they were driven by a Pioneer SX-1250 receiver and augmented with a sub. they were also well positioned in the room. very big sound done very well.

the buzzing is a frequent problem of aging that is easily repaired so that shouldnt deter you too much.

Pretty accurate listening experience in my book.

However, with placement and proper setup, Yes and Rusted Root should do better.

The small Maggies I had here were pretty much unable to produce rock- but that surely was a size issue.

Comparisons to Dahlquists, Vandersteens and a few other speakers are fitting. These speakers almost achieve a pair of planar's good qualities, and skirt a pair of planar's issues.

Though the planars remain advanced in some aspects, they may pose issues in others.

Maggies are not electrostats, nor are Apogees. They are planar magnetics, sometimes with ribbon tweeters. A whole different animal.

IMO good stats sound better than any type of speaker other than good horns. They have ultimate clarity and can image very well; do the depth and width thing. But they lack dynamics compared to some other types of speakers.

Infinity IRS Betas and Gamma/Deltas use EMI* drivers for frequencies above 150Hz.

* ElectroMagnetic Induction

ive owned my martin logan aerius speakers for 4-5 years now


brutally honest with very neutral sound reproduction


as stated, very picky with placement and strict requirements for room dimensions and spacing from rear wall

they are also power hogs, so you'll need good clean power for them

if i can say anything about my martin logan speakers, is that theyre very much like a supermodel girlfriend... high cost, very pretty to look at....... and demanding........... but unlike a supermodel, these speakers are low maintenance and consistently perform without any drama or attitude! :-)

i'll gladly say that these are the best speakers ive ever owned and some of the nicest ive ever listened to. worth every penny.