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RE: ESLs can they be done on a budget?

Given your budget restrictions you have basically two options. A nice pair of Acoustats in good working order. These are pretty easy to find for under a $1K. Best to purchase from an original owner that has maintained them well and will fully disclose any issue they might have had over the years with the speakers.

The second option is a pair of the smaller Martin-Logan hybrids. The Aerius comes to mind. This is a great speaker for the money and has the advantage over the Acoustat in that ML is still alive and can keep the speakers running. They routinely sell for under $1K. If you can stretch the budget just a bit go for the Aerius II or the SL3.

Forget about Quads for that kind of money. Unless you are lucky in the extreme you will simply purchase a headache that will cost significant $$$$ to get working correctly. While a pair of original ESLs might be found for a $1K or less, and appear to be working nicely, they will be far from specification. There are NO bargins when it comes to Quads, unless, again, you are lucky in the extreme. You get what you pay for.

Forget about things like the KLH-9, Koss, D-W, etc. All of these are terribly dated designs by modern standards. The performance of any of these speakers can be easily eclipsed by more modern designs; their day in the sun has come and gone. And most likely they will also need a significant amount of work/$$$$$ to get running properly. That money is better invested in a better speaker to begin with.

Good luck with your hunt. Stats are a blast but one should know what they are getting into before exploring electrostats especially units that are approaching 30-40 years in age.



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  • RE: ESLs can they be done on a budget? - kentaja 11:57:20 06/16/10 (0)

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