Planar Speaker Asylum Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences.

---

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Planar Speaker Asylum ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

RE: Quads and Cat

Posted by Satie (A) on December 24, 2016 at 14:18:16

In Reply to: RE: Quads and Cat posted by tedtag on December 24, 2016 at 05:35:53:

I think the problems you had with the bringing out of detail using volume adjustment on the 3.7i as resulting from the low level detail swallowing by the maggies then followed by compression at higher volumes and the plethora of vibration issues from the diaphragm noise and magnet board ringing. The compression issue is solved with the push pull drivers of the MG20.1 and later version and to a substantial extent the low level detail swallowing is taken care of as well. The Neo8 drivers I use are also push pull and definitely narrowed the gap with ESLs on low level detail presentation, while also eliminating the compression problems. The big deal for me is that they can play very loud without strain and that is well beyond anything I got out of an ESL (Acoustat 2+2 not to speak of the Quad 57 - to which I had long term exposure, CLS and a couple of mid range ML hybrids to which I had some exposur)...
Quite frankly, Considering the cost of a PK modded quad starting with a new quad, I think the 3.7i just isn't the right speaker to set up to compete with the PK Quads. The proper model is the 20.1 or the 20.7. That way you have PP drivers for bass and midrange as well as tweeters, and a lower mass diaphragm on the 20 models' mids as they don''t have to handle bass like the 3.7 diaphragms do. Your room can handle the slightly greater space requirement for the 20.7. But I think your main advantage introducing the 20.7 would be in midbass performance - on the octave centered at 100hz. Though much improved relative to the 3.7 in the areas you mentioned, I don't know that the gap left with optimized ESLs would really be so readily closed in the mids to the point that you would prefer the 20.7/20.1.

The Vivid Gia is in one of the most advanced cabinets ever designed (former B&W engineers) but it is not a tall line source, which I think is necessary to obtain the most out of recordings because of the way the room coupling works on the floor reflections compared to tall line sources. It might be worthwhile to watch DB Keele's presentation of his floor reflection calculations on his Audio Artistry speakers. http://www.parts-express.com/audio-artistry-cbt36k-line-array-speaker-pair-kit--301-980 In the case of a tall dipole planar line source you have a cylindrical wave form launch that limits the floor reflection effects. There is a gain in midrange clarity that I noticed in the CLS when compared to the big ML hybrids that I ascribe to the fact that the ESL section is lifted way off the floor and slanted. thus undoing the benefit of the cylindrical wave launch and making the hybrids sound more like a conventional speaker into the mids and treble. The Acoustat 2+2 and the Beveridge were really the killer in this aspect. I suppose the IRS was as well, so claimed HP, but those Beveridge, 2+2, the MG20 and the tall soundlabs and to an extent my line array Neo8 midrange (though not quite as tall as initially planned) do this space lift and bring the soundstage to a believable presentation that I have not heard from any box speaker, including crossoverless single driver and coax point sources.

To get back on point, I think you should get an audition of the MG20.x and ask yourself if there is a gain in midbass performance that you would appreciate and whether the loss of some midrange and low treble detail relative to the PK Quads is just a deal breaker that you can't live with now that you finally have the PK Quads at their best.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Parts Connexion

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---