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In Reply to: Re: Let's not face it ... posted by markzb on October 27, 2006 at 04:34:56:
I don't see what the problem is.The power supply provides a high voltage to polarize the diaphragm. If the speaker is working properly, the diaphrahm draws no current, so the current capability (beefiness) of the supply doesn't enter into the picture. In fact, in the '63 there is a 10 megohm (thats millions of ohms) resistor in series betwen the supply and the diaphragm to, I believe ensure that it runs in a "constant current" mode.
Follow Ups:
The 10Meg resistor in series with the EHT supply helps suppress excess current to the panels when charge migration starts. This is not required with the original ESL given the extremely high resistance on the diaphgraghm and you see no series resistors in place with the original ESL EHT unit.Charge migration will never occur with the original ESL no matter the drive condition. This is not the case with the ESL63. Heavy drive will cause charge migration from the diaphraghm to the stator. The spark arrestor will stop the migration once it starts, but some migration and sparking will generally always occur under these conditions. The 10Meg resistor lowers the available current to the panel(s) and reduces the chances of punching a hole in the diaphraghm when charge migration occurs.
Greetings KenYou say..." Charge migration will never occur with the original ESL no matter the drive condition"
Ken...what prevents the total absence of this charge migration you mention? Is it due to the high resistance of the original nylon coatings? Or something else?
Why i ask? If we use "other" alternatives diaphragm coatings to nylon that have less surface resistivity (but no where near as little as graphite), do we run the risk of this charge migration occuring? Should we then look at adding in some series resistance?
Im curious if you have any insights into this.
AndyOne can only hope you might ask yourself one day just how generations before you absolutely LOVED buying and listening to music on such outdated gear. And if you ever decide to pickup reading, you might find it interesting what the great masters of a couple of hundred years ago had to say about notions of "progress".
Your analogue views and statement is somewhat too simplistic.
Do you have anything to say or ask about ESL power supplies Andy? That's what i would really like to talk about.
Mark,Re. "One can only hope you might ask yourself one day just how generations before you absolutely LOVED buying and listening to music on such outdated gear."
... you call ME simplistic!!?? :-))
Ever since I bought my Maggies 15 years ago, I have always loved listening to my system. But significant changes and tweaks have occurred to my system since then which, by comparison, give me significantly increased enjoyment NOW than what I had then.
Does that negate the enjoyment I've had over the past 15 years, compared to now ... of course not! It simply points to how naive I was 15 years ago in thinking "this is good"! :-))
Also, re: "And if you ever decide to pickup reading, you might find it interesting ...".
As they say in the comics "on the Internet, no-one knows you're a dog". You have absolutely no idea whether I read a lot or not, never having met me.
And as to: "... what the great masters of a couple of hundred years ago had to say about notions of 'progress'" - why stop at the last 200 years?
I've read a piece by one of the famous ancient Greek philosphers (Pythagoras?) that decries the behavious of the young - much as the press comments about todays teenagers. Plus ca change ... as the Frogs say! :-))
And do I have anything to say or ask about ESL power supplies? No, sorry, I'm not an electrostatic man ... neither am I a full-range driver man (both are too compromised IMO). Anyway, I think you've got all the information you need from Ken.
Regards,
Hi AndyMortimer J Adler wrote something called "How to read a book". If ever you get the chance...do try and give it a read. Quality of reading, not quantity is one of the main thrusts of it. It really is a gem.
To answer your questions,
No, i dont know exactly how many books you have read. To my mind, the Quality of books one reads and more so understands them is more important. But heck, that's just my opinion.
Why stop there? Well 200 years ago is when issues were raised on what progress really is about that have strong relevance to situations of today. I found the French writings of the day especially very enlightening and can relate to that time period more as the music, art and architecture are still visible to us today to relate the two.
Phythagoras was of a time i can not visualise or relate to to today.
Lastly you ask.. "you call ME simplistic!!?? :-))"...
Yes i do
The high resistance on the panels, along with the internal charge rings, keeps the charge in place. High resistance on the output of the EHT supply will not accomplish the same thing without a huge sacrifice in sensitivity, i.e. 200-300M. Best to have the high resistance on the panel.
Without knowing anything about electrostatic speakers, but a little about electronics, a series resistor does not lower current it lowers voltage. This is strictly a result of Kirchoff's laws which states that the current entering a point equals the current leaving. I don't doubt that the 10M resistor prevents damage to the diaphragm but not by lowering the current but rather the voltage.
I may be an egoist but at least I don't talk about other people.
As the spark occurs on a small part of the diaphraghm, the discharge current flowing in the areas adjacent to the spark area will cause the spark area to drop below the potential by which a spark can occur. The voltage drops momentarily to below the potential of sparking.
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