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I've read that smokers and electrostatic loudspeakers shouldn't go together. I am a tobacco smoker (pipe, cigar, cigarette) so I've dismissed the electrostatics entirely. I did get a pair of Maggies however which I switch in and out of my system now and then.
Can anyone shed more light on the recommendation that smoke and electrostatics don't mix? I believe I read it in a review somewhere, or maybe downloaded a Martin Logan manual (I forgot).
Follow Ups:
It won't damage them as much as it does you.
-Wendell
.
Dayton-Wright are filled with SF6, a heavier than air gas.
Unleaded gasoline causes failiures in electrostats (even the ones with grills/filters), because the catalytic converters in the cars reduce the particle size so much that the high-voltage on the E-stats sucks the carbon in anyway and it shorts out the HV supply boards, and the diaphragm/stator assemblies.
I suggest Dayton-Wright or nothing.
.?.
Brent
,,
IIRC, Acoustats had a lifetime guaranty on their panels.
Interestingly, they used insulated wire to form the stator panels, perhaps a reason why they usually never arc.
Stu
Yes, you are correct about the lifetime guaranty. It was a two part warranty that covered the owner for the entire "Acoustat Loudspeaker System" including (where applicable) the sub woofer. The second part warranted the "electrostatic portion" of the system as long as it "remains in service".
Ironically, the only problem I ever had with the system was foam rot on the sub-woofer surround which I remedied with a kit I purchased online. It was an easy fix costing a total of $17.95.
In addition to the insulated wires, their plastic grids help to eliminate arcing.
I had Accoustats that started smoking and then caught fire. ...almost took the house down.
Sorry to hear that. Which model were they and did you purchase them new?
Yes I did purchase them new..they were maybe a year old at the time.,,,I don't remember the model number. I was in the kitchen (the room next to the listening room), and just happened to turn my head, smelled something burning, and then saw the flame come up from the left speaker. I had both of them repaired then sold them. I remember that they sounded good...I may have been using an Ampzilla on them
WOW!!!
It's good you were home at the time.
I would have gotten rid of them also.
used in the interface can have a more limited life. :)
The Koss electrostats had fully insulated stators, but the panels would still arc out form carbon, dust, etc.
Then the audio step-up transformers would arc out.
If you have to smoke ( I guess you think you do ) why not do it outside and then you can enjoy any speakers you want indoors. If you quit smoking just think how many more years you can enjoy those speakers. I'll get off my soapbox now.
I live in New York City, I already have my Mayor Bloomberg taxing me to high hell. Costs me just a tad under $800 for cigarettes a month, not to mention he wanted to ban salt in recipes at Restaurants, and now wants to ban large sodas. I really appreciate your comments, I just hope you are not like the people who have cursed and spit at me when I have smoke breaks during lunchtime at work.
So, yeah thanks. Electrostatic speakers and smoke don't go together, I get it,
I'm down to my last one right now .
Man oh man, that's gotta be some expensive habit up there. Might have to start smugglin' smokes to NY...JUST KIDDING!
-RW-
If you want to ride Amtrack or get here somehow I can meet you in one of the 5 boroughs of NYC and we can exchange some suitcases in a few parking lots, let me know. lol!
I was thinking about smuggling about 100 cartons from Delaware just for myself (it's $4 a pack there). I go through a carton and a half a week. Then I would probably have to build a humidor for storing them all.
I tried rolling my own, I can't roll them fast enough, I smoke one as I roll another, and when that's done I smoke that one too, then roll another.
I prefer the pre-rolled tobacco sticks. Specifically Winston Red pack.
Another good reason not to buy stats.
If you managed to quit, you could pay for a pair of Sundlab U1s in a mere 43 months from the savings....That should be a huge incentive :) at least it would be for me....
dee
;-D
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.
quote by Kurt Vonnegut
There's been a lot of talk on the radio about this lately.
I don't miss the nanny mindset of politicians (and apparently voters) of New York State at all.
They tax and over-regulate everything to death, then wonder why their economy continues to sink.
What kind of speakers were we talking about?
Remember that you're paying for that pig's insulin
I could get any car that I would want and have gas money left over, but a car is probably not a priority in NYC. I used to smoke and sometimes the former smokers are the worse, but I have no problem with smokers as long as it doesn't invade my space, and I would never spit on you no matter what. You can't move to Jersey and take the train to work? Are you allowed to smoke at restaurants if you sit outside? Some restaurants around here are 100% smoke-free.
Smoking is basically banned everywhere there is open air here. They don't call tobacco the strongest spirit for nothing. I will quit I have to say, once I find the right Yogi teacher to follow. It is very hard addiction.
$12 a pack of 20 cigarettes here, where a few states over it's $4.
I can get political on this, but I won't. I don't want the Department of Homeland Security knocking, or worse, busting down my door asking me for my papers. Yes I believe it has gotten that bad.
For what it may be worth: At one point my older son used to smoke cigs. He was traveling in the deep south with his GF, broke, and needed smokes. He ended up at a smoke shop that convinced him to roll his own, using a quality roller and pipe tobacco due to cost. After he tried this for a while he mentioned how much better he felt due to the crap they put in the cigs. these days. No additives, much cheaper, smokes better. He got very adept at rolling enough for the day and putting them in a metal case. For him it was a necessary step towards stopping smoking altogether. Not easy, and not by itself, but just not possible from off-the-shelf cigs. alone.
Uncle Stu has it correct -
The tars that are made airborne during smoking condense on the stators and possibly membranes - again depending upon static charges and dustcover/construction. As the tar condenses it will be sticky and attract/collect other airborne particles - ash, dust, etc. which will then accumulate and can cause damage in two ways -
1- provide an arc path - and perforate the membrane, or limit the excursion of the membrane
2- weigh down the membrane which will adversely affect the response of the membrane/diaphragm.
There are also elements within the tar - depending upon the cigarette/tobacco that are caustic to some components - I remember cleaning out a Pre-Amp from a smoker where the PCB was discolored and some traces were lifting...
It is not easy to clean out as the oils from the tar tend to be absorbed into the material and while solvents can help, it is hard to completely remove the effects.
Happy Listening
Unfortunately smoking is much like any other form of airborne pollution. The fine smoke eventually has to settle somewhere. Since a great deal of the smoke is organic in nature if it settles in any place where there is heat or high voltage the organic material will eventually carbonize and thus create a pathway for arcing.
electronics I have examined used in the presence of heavy smokers reveal a gummy residue which needs a bit of an alcohol wash to clean off. It is difficult as much of the smoke residue will eventually drift under individual components on a circuit board.
With electrostatics the smoke will deposit upon the stator panels which are charged to a high voltage and can arc to the panels, With certain designs, like the Martin Logans, their curved panels employ foam spacers between the diaphragm and the stator panel, creating a a fairly ready pathway. Quads employ a dust cover but often the the older units have some perforations in the dust cover or are inadequately sealed.
There was a electrostatic company whose panels were sealed and filled with some kind of gas.
YMMV of course.
Stu
There was a electrostatic company whose panels were sealed and filled with some kind of gas.
the Canadian designed Dayton-Wrights which used sulfur hexafluoride. Hearing them back in 1976 immediately converted me to a stat fan.
Thanks Uncle Stu. That helps a lot.
The Martin Logan web site also says it'll discolor the panels as well, not worth even looking into then.
Nothing to me at least beats a cigar, some Slivovitz and good Jazz to unwind. So I'm not quitting ;)
I agree with unclestu, stats are dust and dirt magnets.
I've enjoyed my Acoustat 1+1s for over 30 years. I have the off white socks because my ex-wife didn't want the black monoliths in the room (how's that for a compromise, white vs. black socks).
Over the years I have made it part of my spring cleaning to remove the socks and launder them. I also routinely vacuum them and de-charge the panels to help keep the stators fairly dust free.
Stats are not smoker friendly, so that leaves only one alternative-Maggies!
Have fun!!
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