Hello everyone, long time lurker here to this great site.
As the title suggests I want a pair of large, curved ESLs, but of the only two people that I know that will build ESLs to order, I am not finding exactly what I am looking for...
Russ Knotts of justrealmusic builds them, but he only curves them to 22 degrees, and I am looking for more like 30, and the largest panels he makes are 16"x 60", and I want one a full 18" wide. Plus I don't think there is a return policy as this would be considered a custom build.
Buen (username) of Crescendo makes panels that wide, but there are a few things he does witch go against my desired outcome. Firstly, he constructs his ESLs using vertical spacers, and I want to use horizontal ones, preferably using double sided tape. Secondly, he uses aluminum coated diaphragms instead of clear, and to me it makes them appear as a wall instead of a window, if you know what I mean.
A little background: I own flat ESLs that are 14.5 inches by 42 inches that sit atop my (10 inch Peerless) 8 foot long tapered DIY transmission line. Now I love my t-lines, but my ESL stators are getting rusty, and most importantly, I am looking to get away from having my head in a vice just to enjoy the listening position. Plus I have just finished a home theater with a projector, and when I have people over, I'd like them to be able to enjoy the sound too, not just me.
Attached picture for reference:
I'm sort of using Charlie's (Jazzman's) blog as a general guide, as it is very thorough and includes a supply list and links, but I have a few questions, (actually quite a few, lol).
Well that's more than enough questions for now, but I'm really determined to fabricate these, not only to save a few dollars, but more importantly to have that satisfaction that comes from the accomplishment.
So to all you stat guys, please leave your answers/comments/further questions for me if you'd be so kind, if all goes well, and I get this ball rolling, I'd like to document any and all progress.
cheers
-wreck
As the title suggests I want a pair of large, curved ESLs, but of the only two people that I know that will build ESLs to order, I am not finding exactly what I am looking for...
Russ Knotts of justrealmusic builds them, but he only curves them to 22 degrees, and I am looking for more like 30, and the largest panels he makes are 16"x 60", and I want one a full 18" wide. Plus I don't think there is a return policy as this would be considered a custom build.
Buen (username) of Crescendo makes panels that wide, but there are a few things he does witch go against my desired outcome. Firstly, he constructs his ESLs using vertical spacers, and I want to use horizontal ones, preferably using double sided tape. Secondly, he uses aluminum coated diaphragms instead of clear, and to me it makes them appear as a wall instead of a window, if you know what I mean.
A little background: I own flat ESLs that are 14.5 inches by 42 inches that sit atop my (10 inch Peerless) 8 foot long tapered DIY transmission line. Now I love my t-lines, but my ESL stators are getting rusty, and most importantly, I am looking to get away from having my head in a vice just to enjoy the listening position. Plus I have just finished a home theater with a projector, and when I have people over, I'd like them to be able to enjoy the sound too, not just me.
Attached picture for reference:
I'm sort of using Charlie's (Jazzman's) blog as a general guide, as it is very thorough and includes a supply list and links, but I have a few questions, (actually quite a few, lol).
- The ESLs I want to build will be 18 inches by 60 inches, with a frequency response that goes relatively flat to around 200Hz (x-over around 150-180), that's quite a bit larger than Charlie's 12”x48” (I believe), and a lower crossover point. Will the same step-up transformers and bias supply work for a design that much different, or do I need to completely rethink this?
- He uses spacers that are 3/8 of an inch wide, I found some double sided tape of the same thickness that is ¼ inch wide, does anyone see potential problems using this width?
- Doing a curved design, do the spacers between the diaphragm and the rear stator need to be a different thickness than the front as to avoid it hitting the rear stator?
- I noticed that quite a few ESL builders don't have their stators perforated all the way to the edge, they have a perimeter of around one inch from the edge that is not perforated, is this necessary, or do I need to just make sure the edges are wrapped with insulator tape of some sort?
- I plan on building a jig curved to 30 degrees for an 18 inch panel, but the jig needs to be around 22 inches wide (so I have room to tape horizontally), does anyone know an easy way to calculate this?
Well that's more than enough questions for now, but I'm really determined to fabricate these, not only to save a few dollars, but more importantly to have that satisfaction that comes from the accomplishment.
So to all you stat guys, please leave your answers/comments/further questions for me if you'd be so kind, if all goes well, and I get this ball rolling, I'd like to document any and all progress.
cheers
-wreck
Last edited:
The wider you make the panel the worse the beaming issues become.
Segmenting the diaphragm into narrower vertical sections will help with this.
Sorry, I don't have any experience with curved panels.
This thread may help you to get some ideas for your project,
Both the builder and the owner of these very large curved ESL's are members of this forum as well,
Building an Electrostatic Speaker
I get good performance down to about 200HZ with a D/S of about 1.5 mm to 1.85mm with a 3.25" wide diaphargm on my little panels.
The perforations along the edge is just a matter of the material that you are using.
Having the holes will help to reduce any extra wasted capacitance.
However, They also give you less area for the tape to properly bond to as well, So you may want to consider using a wider tape than 1/4" around the perimeters or add some extra clamping forces using your final frame structure.
Here is a Radii Calculator that may help you,
http://www.handymath.com/cgi-bin/rad2.cgi?submit=Entry
FWIW
jer
Segmenting the diaphragm into narrower vertical sections will help with this.
Sorry, I don't have any experience with curved panels.
This thread may help you to get some ideas for your project,
Both the builder and the owner of these very large curved ESL's are members of this forum as well,
Building an Electrostatic Speaker
I get good performance down to about 200HZ with a D/S of about 1.5 mm to 1.85mm with a 3.25" wide diaphargm on my little panels.
The perforations along the edge is just a matter of the material that you are using.
Having the holes will help to reduce any extra wasted capacitance.
However, They also give you less area for the tape to properly bond to as well, So you may want to consider using a wider tape than 1/4" around the perimeters or add some extra clamping forces using your final frame structure.
Here is a Radii Calculator that may help you,
http://www.handymath.com/cgi-bin/rad2.cgi?submit=Entry
FWIW
jer
Last edited:
Wreck,
If you really want to have a transparent membrane it's possible for me to make that. I actually have this material in stock for a width up to 30". Using horizontal spacers on a curved panel is definitely possible but makes stretching a whole lot more difficult as really only a vertical stretch is possible. This also means that a hand stretch is really the only option left unless you want to built a dedicated stretching rig for only two speakers. The hand stretch also makes the use of double sided tape a virtual impossibility, apart from the fact that double sided tape actually has a shorter lifespan that the mylar tape I use. Martin Logan can get away with it because they built a lot of the same, for custom production this becomes price prohibitive.
The size of 18" x 60" is actually relatively large for a panel that only has to go down to 200Hz, something this size should easily make 100Hz. If 200Hz is the only requirement than 12" wide should be more than enough.
The stators are custom punched and deburred according to your specified size, for manufacturing reasons an unpunched area around the outer edge is required otherwise the panel will start to warp, this area is also useful to mount the spacers on.
The front an rear spacer thickness is identical, you don't want to introduce more asymmetry than there already exists. The spacers need to be made from a fairly hard material, you don't want them to deform because of membrane tension, I usually use polycarbonate (Lexan) for the spacers around to edge where the membrane is mounted on and 1/8" acrylic for the non structural ones in the center.
The reason for the vertical spacers is better horizontal dispersion and ease of manufacturing although I also do believe that even tensioning in both planes ultimately make a better speaker.
If you really want to have a transparent membrane it's possible for me to make that. I actually have this material in stock for a width up to 30". Using horizontal spacers on a curved panel is definitely possible but makes stretching a whole lot more difficult as really only a vertical stretch is possible. This also means that a hand stretch is really the only option left unless you want to built a dedicated stretching rig for only two speakers. The hand stretch also makes the use of double sided tape a virtual impossibility, apart from the fact that double sided tape actually has a shorter lifespan that the mylar tape I use. Martin Logan can get away with it because they built a lot of the same, for custom production this becomes price prohibitive.
The size of 18" x 60" is actually relatively large for a panel that only has to go down to 200Hz, something this size should easily make 100Hz. If 200Hz is the only requirement than 12" wide should be more than enough.
The stators are custom punched and deburred according to your specified size, for manufacturing reasons an unpunched area around the outer edge is required otherwise the panel will start to warp, this area is also useful to mount the spacers on.
The front an rear spacer thickness is identical, you don't want to introduce more asymmetry than there already exists. The spacers need to be made from a fairly hard material, you don't want them to deform because of membrane tension, I usually use polycarbonate (Lexan) for the spacers around to edge where the membrane is mounted on and 1/8" acrylic for the non structural ones in the center.
The reason for the vertical spacers is better horizontal dispersion and ease of manufacturing although I also do believe that even tensioning in both planes ultimately make a better speaker.
Hi,
it seems to me that Your design process is prone to non-success.
I´d suggest You first specify the requirements of the final speaker, as useage, possible size range, possible positioning, etc.
If I look at the attached pic, I know my ideas about a HomeTheatre capable ESL would certainly not start at: "I want an 18" wide panel", but rather at: "What dynamic range do I want, how many persons will sit side by side, how much space do I have towards backside, side and distance to audience, etc. etc."
A panel is easily chosen too large for a certain listening distance and staging is lost completely. For example will a 18" panel require approximately 12-15Ft minimum listening distance.
My rough guess for a solution would be a hybrid ESL with an only 8"-12" wide panel, crossed around 300-500Hz, assisted by a slim dipole tower and a dedicated powerful Subwoofer (or multiples, or SBA/DBA). Otherwise I hardly see any chance to achieve the required dynamic range for HT. Although this requires more effort regading the required amount of material, but it´ll make building easier and raises the chance of success considerably.
Still it will be difficult if not impossible to achive such wide dipersion that 3 or 4 persons may be served equally well. For HT with ESLs a centre channel is rather a must than an option.
jauu
Calvin
it seems to me that Your design process is prone to non-success.
I´d suggest You first specify the requirements of the final speaker, as useage, possible size range, possible positioning, etc.
If I look at the attached pic, I know my ideas about a HomeTheatre capable ESL would certainly not start at: "I want an 18" wide panel", but rather at: "What dynamic range do I want, how many persons will sit side by side, how much space do I have towards backside, side and distance to audience, etc. etc."
A panel is easily chosen too large for a certain listening distance and staging is lost completely. For example will a 18" panel require approximately 12-15Ft minimum listening distance.
My rough guess for a solution would be a hybrid ESL with an only 8"-12" wide panel, crossed around 300-500Hz, assisted by a slim dipole tower and a dedicated powerful Subwoofer (or multiples, or SBA/DBA). Otherwise I hardly see any chance to achieve the required dynamic range for HT. Although this requires more effort regading the required amount of material, but it´ll make building easier and raises the chance of success considerably.
Still it will be difficult if not impossible to achive such wide dipersion that 3 or 4 persons may be served equally well. For HT with ESLs a centre channel is rather a must than an option.
jauu
Calvin
Hey guys, sorry I didn't respond earlier, I had an unexpected occurrence.
I'd like to avoid segmenting if possible, as I have seen many mentions of this causing the dreaded 'venetian blind effect'..unless of course you are talking about something else... hmmm...
Thanks jer, I have gone over this thread several times, he does some fantastic work! I am not however looking to build a full-range ESL, I'm looking to build a hybrid with a crossover point below the critical midrange (below 200 but above 150) for reasons that Russel Knotts states about transfos only being able to cover a certain amount of FR without strain. Source: Transformers
Wow. Are you using shelving EQ to accomplish this?
Good to know. Thanks for this info. However, I must not have made it clear that I intend to use the 1/4 inch spacers for non-perimeter purposes, I'll be using 3/4 inch for that.
This will help a bunch, thanks bro..
I understand. But doesn't having the panel curved negate this to a certain extent? Seems to me I've seen Capaciti mention this on several occasions..
I'd like to avoid segmenting if possible, as I have seen many mentions of this causing the dreaded 'venetian blind effect'..unless of course you are talking about something else... hmmm...
Thanks jer, I have gone over this thread several times, he does some fantastic work! I am not however looking to build a full-range ESL, I'm looking to build a hybrid with a crossover point below the critical midrange (below 200 but above 150) for reasons that Russel Knotts states about transfos only being able to cover a certain amount of FR without strain. Source: Transformers
Wow. Are you using shelving EQ to accomplish this?
Good to know. Thanks for this info. However, I must not have made it clear that I intend to use the 1/4 inch spacers for non-perimeter purposes, I'll be using 3/4 inch for that.
This will help a bunch, thanks bro..
Thanks for responding beun, and thanks for your offer to build these for me, I appreciate it. But for learning's sake, for satisfaction's sake, and for the feeling similar to when you saw that CLS way back when you said to yourself "I can do that".. I think I am going to roll my own here.
I understand that hand stretching would be a real PITA, but unless costs become problematic, I think building a stretching rig is exactly what I'm going to do, plus I think I'll be building more than just two, as I have friends that need to replace their aging panels too (we all bought the same flat panels I have at the same time [from Barry Waldren, I believe]).
I used "quarter wavelength in size relative to lowest frequency desired" rule of thumb here. I did it in my head so maybe I calculated incorrectly, I'll have to revisit.
That's interesting, I could have sworn that I read Capaciti (username) state that using a differing spacer thickness between the diaphragm and the rear stator would be acceptable, if not desirable (and I think the ESL cookbook too).. I understand your thinking on this though, I'll have to revisit some of this forums archives, and borrow a copy of the cookbook back from my buddy.
So you seem to think that foam would deform (or compress) from diaphragm tension? I wonder if anyone's tested this...you?
I understand your reasoning for vertical spacers, and you are most certainly correct that it makes for superior horizontal tensioning, I just don't know if it matters that much is all, I know I'm not sure, that's for sure..haha
Again, thanks for your response, seems to me I have a lot to learn, but you know what? I'm looking forward to it!
cheers
-wreck
Hi Calvin,
Thanks for you no BS response, your opinion carries much weight (to/with me).
What I originally planned was to have an ESL that would cover all but the lowest FR (below 200-180 Hz) and be able to play at 'concert' levels (very loud) without the distortion associated with conventional dynamic, point source speakers, and without straining.
I must tell you, that all of your responses have me seriously reconsidering this project, but as they say: "how do you know if you don't ask"
As for usage, I don't separate my home theater from my 2 channel listening categorically, I am indeed seeking to make a compromise. ie: I am willing to sacrifice some dynamic range if I can still enjoy these ESLs for 2 channel music. And yes, I plan on making an ESL center channel in the future, but I wanted to get some opinions about the mains first.
Calvin, my trasnsmission-line FR covers anything that a dedicated subwoofer would as far as FR goes in the lower registers. It goes into the very low 20's, and covers the mid-range up to and including the 500 HZ range (current x-over point), so I see no need for a mid-range tower.
I have seen picrtures of your setup with your mid-tower, and it looks great, but like I said, I don't think my TL is going to have a problem covering the FR that the proposed ESL can't handle.
That being said, are you suggesting that an ESL will be too weak to faithfully reproduce the dynamic range that presents itself in a home theater setting? If so, I would very much like to hear you opinions on this, (more to learn maybe?)
As to my desired dispersion for ESL design, I would like very much to be able to let 4 people sitting side by side on a couch to enjoy the same (or close to) the same sounds I am hearing. Also,I never did mention that the listening distance in my home theater room is around 12 to 13 feet.
Again, any and all answers/comments/further questions are welcome.
Help me design/build this thing!
cheers
-wreck
cheers
-wreck
Hello,
I have a paper to explain this in a more physical detail and I will try to find the link on it or just post the paper itself as it explains it more in a better way, In a physical way as Roger Sanders explains it here,
AudiogoN @ CES: Roger Sanders electrostatic loudspeakers designed contrary to most popular theories. - YouTube
#2 Beun can respond to those details as I just work with smaller models for now.
I will be applying all of this to a larger model once I get the room to build one.
#3 It is dealing with the very high voltages that becomes very difficult.
If you don't apply those idea's to a panel and it fail's, It becomes very costly to (re)build and get it right, right off of the bat!!
That is the one of only reasons I have not built a larger panel so far.
For me (personally) I want the most I can get out of it!
I do keep in mind what is the cheapest way that I can go about this.
Not because I am cheap, But, Because it is not cheap, And in the long run if you do it wrong, it gets very costly !!!
And, especially when you get bad results, Then you have to do it all over again.
I don't Cator to Russ, Not that he is any type of bad person, But he doesn't, (as far as I know) is not of the DIYaudio community.
I have talked to him a few times, But lets leave it as that.
I have talked to Roger Sanders many times and that was great!!!!
It would be Great if Russ would chime in once in a while!!!!
Anybody can produce perforated panels and sell them.
Anyhow, My panels have been made to be taken apart and put back together again and again with the kind of consistency that I rarely need to re-tension them.
In the last infamous test's, I spent more time repairing the panel than I could have just building a new one!!!
I have tried many D/S spacing incrementing the D/S thickness by about .005" to .010" each time while keeping note on what the Bias voltage and driving voltage was.
And how loud it is of course !!
I used a microphone to monitor the panel while I was driving the panels past its limits.
This is not old news to these threads.
I detected clipping of the diaphragm into the stator with the microphone at a distance of about 2 feet from the panel.
Even at 200Hz it was more than to my liking and I like it loud !!!!
At 300Hz at the same setting (shifting the signal generator) it was even louder and there was no clipping of the diaphragm!!!
According to a displacement calculator it was somewhere in the +115 db SPL range before it finally burst into flames at 1meter and still kept playing for another 10 minutes because I let it and watched it burn from over excitement!
True story here at DIYaudio!!!!!
That is how I know.
All of that from a 3.25" X 9.75" diaphragm at about 6Kv of bias and 20to25Kv p-p across the stators.... you do the math.
If it had not been for that one weak spot in the design when it was built in 2003, as it was designed for only half of that voltage to begin with, it would still be playing today.
Therefore I built a new one and that is where I am Today.
The D/S of that original panel was about .075".
Now those were some extreme voltages but on the average I can get about 105db easily at 1 meter out of it with only a 20Vp-p input to the transformer (1:160 to 256 or so) with a 6.8Kv bias to boot.
If I could have doubled the bias at 13.8Kv or so this would have cut my amplifier demand in half (6db).
Imagine what it would be like for a larger panel?!!!!
Every time you double the surface area you gain 6db (Imagine that)!
So far I have only been able to get safely to 10Kv of bias so, it is not that easy to do, But the forces do still apply.
That was with my old panel with a D/S of .075"
We shall see what this new one does.
FWIW
jer
I have a paper to explain this in a more physical detail and I will try to find the link on it or just post the paper itself as it explains it more in a better way, In a physical way as Roger Sanders explains it here,
AudiogoN @ CES: Roger Sanders electrostatic loudspeakers designed contrary to most popular theories. - YouTube
#2 Beun can respond to those details as I just work with smaller models for now.
I will be applying all of this to a larger model once I get the room to build one.
#3 It is dealing with the very high voltages that becomes very difficult.
If you don't apply those idea's to a panel and it fail's, It becomes very costly to (re)build and get it right, right off of the bat!!
That is the one of only reasons I have not built a larger panel so far.
For me (personally) I want the most I can get out of it!
I do keep in mind what is the cheapest way that I can go about this.
Not because I am cheap, But, Because it is not cheap, And in the long run if you do it wrong, it gets very costly !!!
And, especially when you get bad results, Then you have to do it all over again.
I don't Cator to Russ, Not that he is any type of bad person, But he doesn't, (as far as I know) is not of the DIYaudio community.
I have talked to him a few times, But lets leave it as that.
I have talked to Roger Sanders many times and that was great!!!!
It would be Great if Russ would chime in once in a while!!!!
Anybody can produce perforated panels and sell them.
Anyhow, My panels have been made to be taken apart and put back together again and again with the kind of consistency that I rarely need to re-tension them.
In the last infamous test's, I spent more time repairing the panel than I could have just building a new one!!!
I have tried many D/S spacing incrementing the D/S thickness by about .005" to .010" each time while keeping note on what the Bias voltage and driving voltage was.
And how loud it is of course !!
I used a microphone to monitor the panel while I was driving the panels past its limits.
This is not old news to these threads.
I detected clipping of the diaphragm into the stator with the microphone at a distance of about 2 feet from the panel.
Even at 200Hz it was more than to my liking and I like it loud !!!!
At 300Hz at the same setting (shifting the signal generator) it was even louder and there was no clipping of the diaphragm!!!
According to a displacement calculator it was somewhere in the +115 db SPL range before it finally burst into flames at 1meter and still kept playing for another 10 minutes because I let it and watched it burn from over excitement!
True story here at DIYaudio!!!!!
That is how I know.
All of that from a 3.25" X 9.75" diaphragm at about 6Kv of bias and 20to25Kv p-p across the stators.... you do the math.
If it had not been for that one weak spot in the design when it was built in 2003, as it was designed for only half of that voltage to begin with, it would still be playing today.
Therefore I built a new one and that is where I am Today.
The D/S of that original panel was about .075".
Now those were some extreme voltages but on the average I can get about 105db easily at 1 meter out of it with only a 20Vp-p input to the transformer (1:160 to 256 or so) with a 6.8Kv bias to boot.
If I could have doubled the bias at 13.8Kv or so this would have cut my amplifier demand in half (6db).
Imagine what it would be like for a larger panel?!!!!
Every time you double the surface area you gain 6db (Imagine that)!
So far I have only been able to get safely to 10Kv of bias so, it is not that easy to do, But the forces do still apply.
That was with my old panel with a D/S of .075"
We shall see what this new one does.
FWIW
jer
Hi,
You don´t need to sacrifice on dynamic range just for home useage.
If You look at measurements of most dynamic home speaker´s capabilities, even larger models are hardly capable to achieve more than 100dB at lower frequencies and typically less than 110dB at higher frequencies, at 1m distance.
This SPL comes with typically 3-5dB of compression and loads of distortion.
If executed carefully and precisely a 10"x40-50" panel may achieve up to ~110dB at 3-4m distance from ~250Hz on up without compression and at THD levels of a dynamic speaker performing at less than 1W of power.
110dB@4m SPL translates to 122dB@1m for the classical measurement setup distance. The difference is lower in a room with boundaring walls, but still the dynamic range is closer to a compression horn than a direct radiator.
But its offering much more authentic sound over a much larger bandwidth.
Larger Panels won´t add much more SPL-max or nil, since the SPL is finally limited by air voltage breakdown and typically a larger panel will be crossed at lower freqs also. A larger panel beams more than a slimmer panel and requires larger listening rooms and -distances and considerably more amp-power. Also it is more difficult to build (the width is more critical than the height here, talking of curved stators). Think of sourcing the membrane film (I´ve got for example an excellent film, but that is just 10" wide).
Regarding beaming. Starting at low freqs the panel begins lobing. The lobing getting stronger up to ~7-10kHz. Its just above that range that the curvature widens the lobe again, but it remains considerably less than the angle of curvature. Anybody talking of 30° curvature equalling 30° of dispersion is talking marketing babble. Regardless of (practical) dimensioning the panel will be beaming strongly. The best conditions for 3 to 4 persons listening would be sitting in a row on axis, one behind the other 1x1x1x1, followed by 1x1x2 and 2x2. I use an ESEL with a 10"-50", 30° panel at home for Video too and we don´t listen with more than 2 nerds side by side.
The dynamic range a panel can supply for, requires a quite potent lower-mid/Bass partner. Even more, in most films the bass is vastly overpowering everything else. So there should be quite a lot of headroom.
As seamless transition from the panel to the lower-mid/bass requires a similar distribution character, I chose a dipolar tower for the range from ~50-250Hz.
Besides achieving the right distribution character, the dipole-tower covers a minimal width and footprint area and also allows for enough membrane area to cope with the panel. Using drivers of the 5"-8" class one can easily generate huge dynamics well down to 50Hz. A dedicated woofer can take over the rest from ~60Hz to the infrasonic range.
A curved sheet panel may give You greatest dynamic range, but a flat segmented wire stator comes close and will be easier to build (way less worrying about insulation ... and man, insulation will grow You some gray hair). It´ll cost less and will be more amplifier friendly. A flat membrane allows for heat treatment with probabely all the films offered for ESLs, while a curved panel may only be tensioned mechanically, unless You use a film with certain special qualities (afaik officially nothing left of that stuff on market any more). A mechanically tensioned film may take up to half year of time to break in and settle at the final values.
If You still decide for curved punched metal sheet stators, than be prepared to put a helluf preparation time and work into the things if You want SotA results. And do Yourself the favour to get the right and the best materials.
3/8" or 3/16" is not a question, but the road to hell.
And be prepared to maybe be in need of a different amplifier, as most solid state amps are incapable of pressing the ultimate out of the speaker
jauu
Calvin
You don´t need to sacrifice on dynamic range just for home useage.
If You look at measurements of most dynamic home speaker´s capabilities, even larger models are hardly capable to achieve more than 100dB at lower frequencies and typically less than 110dB at higher frequencies, at 1m distance.
This SPL comes with typically 3-5dB of compression and loads of distortion.
If executed carefully and precisely a 10"x40-50" panel may achieve up to ~110dB at 3-4m distance from ~250Hz on up without compression and at THD levels of a dynamic speaker performing at less than 1W of power.
110dB@4m SPL translates to 122dB@1m for the classical measurement setup distance. The difference is lower in a room with boundaring walls, but still the dynamic range is closer to a compression horn than a direct radiator.
But its offering much more authentic sound over a much larger bandwidth.
Larger Panels won´t add much more SPL-max or nil, since the SPL is finally limited by air voltage breakdown and typically a larger panel will be crossed at lower freqs also. A larger panel beams more than a slimmer panel and requires larger listening rooms and -distances and considerably more amp-power. Also it is more difficult to build (the width is more critical than the height here, talking of curved stators). Think of sourcing the membrane film (I´ve got for example an excellent film, but that is just 10" wide).
Regarding beaming. Starting at low freqs the panel begins lobing. The lobing getting stronger up to ~7-10kHz. Its just above that range that the curvature widens the lobe again, but it remains considerably less than the angle of curvature. Anybody talking of 30° curvature equalling 30° of dispersion is talking marketing babble. Regardless of (practical) dimensioning the panel will be beaming strongly. The best conditions for 3 to 4 persons listening would be sitting in a row on axis, one behind the other 1x1x1x1, followed by 1x1x2 and 2x2. I use an ESEL with a 10"-50", 30° panel at home for Video too and we don´t listen with more than 2 nerds side by side.
The dynamic range a panel can supply for, requires a quite potent lower-mid/Bass partner. Even more, in most films the bass is vastly overpowering everything else. So there should be quite a lot of headroom.
As seamless transition from the panel to the lower-mid/bass requires a similar distribution character, I chose a dipolar tower for the range from ~50-250Hz.
Besides achieving the right distribution character, the dipole-tower covers a minimal width and footprint area and also allows for enough membrane area to cope with the panel. Using drivers of the 5"-8" class one can easily generate huge dynamics well down to 50Hz. A dedicated woofer can take over the rest from ~60Hz to the infrasonic range.
A curved sheet panel may give You greatest dynamic range, but a flat segmented wire stator comes close and will be easier to build (way less worrying about insulation ... and man, insulation will grow You some gray hair
). It´ll cost less and will be more amplifier friendly. A flat membrane allows for heat treatment with probabely all the films offered for ESLs, while a curved panel may only be tensioned mechanically, unless You use a film with certain special qualities (afaik officially nothing left of that stuff on market any more). A mechanically tensioned film may take up to half year of time to break in and settle at the final values.If You still decide for curved punched metal sheet stators, than be prepared to put a helluf preparation time and work into the things if You want SotA results. And do Yourself the favour to get the right and the best materials.
3/8" or 3/16" is not a question, but the road to hell.
And be prepared to maybe be in need of a different amplifier, as most solid state amps are incapable of pressing the ultimate out of the speaker
jauu
Calvin
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No matter what you build there are built-in compromises. The questions end up being which compromises are you willing to accept, and which not?
I am not impressed at all with the HF dispersion of horizontally segmented ESLs.
Of course, my experience may be at odds with others. Martin Logan being the prime example and probably first in the water. I'm talking here about their larger models, not just the thin small ones.
If I wanted horizontal dispersion, I'd build multiple vertical segments. The "thinness" of the segment divisions is less important than one might think, since in reality the acoustic center of the tall ESL membrane works out to be the center of the membrane. Unfortunately it doesn't really work quite as we would wish, not the single flat and planar diaphragm with uniform motion that is imagined.
So no matter what you can't get the acoustic centers super close in the vertical situation. Similarly, in the horizontal case, you have the HF centers separated by an even larger distance. Think of tweeters spaced by 12" or so?
The *idea* is that with the horizontal curvature and the horizontal segmentation that the HF output is spread uniformly across that horizontal surface. But, does it really work out that way when measured?
_-_-
I am not impressed at all with the HF dispersion of horizontally segmented ESLs.
Of course, my experience may be at odds with others. Martin Logan being the prime example and probably first in the water. I'm talking here about their larger models, not just the thin small ones.
If I wanted horizontal dispersion, I'd build multiple vertical segments. The "thinness" of the segment divisions is less important than one might think, since in reality the acoustic center of the tall ESL membrane works out to be the center of the membrane. Unfortunately it doesn't really work quite as we would wish, not the single flat and planar diaphragm with uniform motion that is imagined.
So no matter what you can't get the acoustic centers super close in the vertical situation. Similarly, in the horizontal case, you have the HF centers separated by an even larger distance. Think of tweeters spaced by 12" or so?
The *idea* is that with the horizontal curvature and the horizontal segmentation that the HF output is spread uniformly across that horizontal surface. But, does it really work out that way when measured?
_-_-
Well, I have spent the last day or so pouring over info from the cookbook and this forum's archives, and I'm still making my mind up on my proposed design/plans....time will tell, I guess.
@ jer,
Wow, sounds like a killer little panel! When are you going to make the new one? ...cant' wait!
If you could find that paper you mentioned and post it that would be great. The clip you posted of Roger I have seen many times and agree with all. *Except* When he says that a curved ESL sounds like a regular dynamic speaker..haha.. I couldn't disagree more.
Anyway, I mentioned that I have a set of flat panels that are on their way out, and my plan for them is to disassemble those, have them sandblasted, and re-do them from the ground up.
Those panels have served me well and sound great in the sweet spot, but (and this is going to sound strange) I find myself listening only to recordings that sound exceptionally good, and avoiding others that don't.
Have you ever listened to Zeppelin III on ESLs? It sounds like the crappy recording that it is, about the only thing I notice is that you can now hear Bonham's squeaky bass-drum pedal on 'Since I been loving you' in all it's gory glory..lol..
I'm still going to keep the flat ESLs for critical listening, but I really want to build a curved set *deliberately* to avoid this 'magnifying glass' effect that I get with them.
All that being said, I still would like for someone knowledgeable about the electronics of ESLs to tell me rather Jazzman's setup would work with panels, say, 14" by 60" in size.
Out for now...
-wreck
@ jer,
Wow, sounds like a killer little panel! When are you going to make the new one? ...cant' wait!
If you could find that paper you mentioned and post it that would be great. The clip you posted of Roger I have seen many times and agree with all. *Except* When he says that a curved ESL sounds like a regular dynamic speaker..haha.. I couldn't disagree more.
Anyway, I mentioned that I have a set of flat panels that are on their way out, and my plan for them is to disassemble those, have them sandblasted, and re-do them from the ground up.
Those panels have served me well and sound great in the sweet spot, but (and this is going to sound strange) I find myself listening only to recordings that sound exceptionally good, and avoiding others that don't.
Have you ever listened to Zeppelin III on ESLs?
It sounds like the crappy recording that it is, about the only thing I notice is that you can now hear Bonham's squeaky bass-drum pedal on 'Since I been loving you' in all it's gory glory..lol..I'm still going to keep the flat ESLs for critical listening, but I really want to build a curved set *deliberately* to avoid this 'magnifying glass' effect that I get with them.
All that being said, I still would like for someone knowledgeable about the electronics of ESLs to tell me rather Jazzman's setup would work with panels, say, 14" by 60" in size.
Out for now...
-wreck
Hi,
If You still decide for curved punched metal sheet stators, than be prepared to put a helluf preparation time and work into the things if You want SotA results. And do Yourself the favour to get the right and the best materials.
3/8" or 3/16" is not a question, but the road to hell.
And be prepared to maybe be in need of a different amplifier, as most solid state amps are incapable of pressing the ultimate out of the speaker
jauu
Calvin
Hi Calvin,
Could you describe what you mean in the sentence I put in bold above?
BTW, I laughed out loud when I saw it with the little rain-cloud emoticon haha..
You also mentioned insulating making my hair gray, could you expand on that too? I would appreciate it.
cheers
So far I have the new panel already made but I have yet to put the diaphragm on it.
I have its build completely documented in detail here,
A Segmented Stator Desktop ESL
Here is a short thread on the old panel before it finally gave out,
A Desktop ESL Build
Had I not pushed it so hard, they would still be working, But it was all done in the name of DIYAudio science!!
As I had mentioned before but in other threads, I used Powder coating on the original window screen stator, and then was later resealed with some clear acrylic spray paint when I refurbished them and got them running again in 2010.
I am planning on building an identical panel using the same construction methods I used before, only using the new improve painting method that I have done here,
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/plan...tric-coatings-fact-fiction-2.html#post2894427
I also have some bulk PC material and try that method again sometime once I get a liquidizing bed made to dip the stator screen's into for coating them.
I haven't totally abandoned the curve panel idea yet as I think that it might work very well for my smaller panels.
But for a larger width panel, I think that the electrical segmentation method just may be the ticket.
I get approximately up to 15 degrees off center of high end dispersion with my 3.25' wide diaphragm as measured.
It seems to coincide with the math formula's and simulation programs I have used.
Past that you start to really notice the difference as the highest frequency's start to drop off considerably.
Using electrical segmentation I am hoping to increase it to 30 to 45 degrees off center if not better.
I will look for that link for you, I think I have it posted in one of these threads.
It is a great book!
It explains in great detail about panel width vs dispersion and the problems involved with curved panels.
Such as the phase issues on the wavefront due to the center of the panel being closer to you than the the waves coming off of the edges as they are slightly farther away.
Yes, I do have the same issues with some listening material as you!!
ESL's recreate the sound with such precision that only best recordings and mixes sound good and if there are any flaws the are greatly enhanced!!!!
Yes, I do recall that squeaky Kick pedal!!
That happened to me to me once doing a recording session for a band and it took us hours to figure out what that horrendous noise was!
Needless to say the on the next session the drummer had got a brand new pedal and it was all good after that.
I had a very hard time listing to some of the Zepplin stuff and especially Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"!!!
You can here every little click and tape splice, or when a track pops in and it is not exactly the right level yet.
Then there are other recordings that are very well edited and just sound Phenomenal like ELP's "From the Beginning" and "Lucky Man".
Spandau Ballet's "True" is another great vocal track but the kick drum click reaps havoc for my smaller amplifier!!
Much of David Bowie's stuff is good and the Spin Doctors just rock on my little panel just to name a few.
Jazzman helped a fellow friend and DIYer "Mavric" build his panels and they were about 16"wide and there is a few threads on that build Here,
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/planars-exotics/165495-start-finish-esl-hybrid.html#post2160924
And here,
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/planars-exotics/158115-material-esl.html#post2037964
jer
I have its build completely documented in detail here,
A Segmented Stator Desktop ESL
Here is a short thread on the old panel before it finally gave out,
A Desktop ESL Build
Had I not pushed it so hard, they would still be working, But it was all done in the name of DIYAudio science!!
As I had mentioned before but in other threads, I used Powder coating on the original window screen stator, and then was later resealed with some clear acrylic spray paint when I refurbished them and got them running again in 2010.
I am planning on building an identical panel using the same construction methods I used before, only using the new improve painting method that I have done here,
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/plan...tric-coatings-fact-fiction-2.html#post2894427
I also have some bulk PC material and try that method again sometime once I get a liquidizing bed made to dip the stator screen's into for coating them.
I haven't totally abandoned the curve panel idea yet as I think that it might work very well for my smaller panels.
But for a larger width panel, I think that the electrical segmentation method just may be the ticket.
I get approximately up to 15 degrees off center of high end dispersion with my 3.25' wide diaphragm as measured.
It seems to coincide with the math formula's and simulation programs I have used.
Past that you start to really notice the difference as the highest frequency's start to drop off considerably.
Using electrical segmentation I am hoping to increase it to 30 to 45 degrees off center if not better.
I will look for that link for you, I think I have it posted in one of these threads.
It is a great book!
It explains in great detail about panel width vs dispersion and the problems involved with curved panels.
Such as the phase issues on the wavefront due to the center of the panel being closer to you than the the waves coming off of the edges as they are slightly farther away.
Yes, I do have the same issues with some listening material as you!!
ESL's recreate the sound with such precision that only best recordings and mixes sound good and if there are any flaws the are greatly enhanced!!!!
Yes, I do recall that squeaky Kick pedal!!
That happened to me to me once doing a recording session for a band and it took us hours to figure out what that horrendous noise was!
Needless to say the on the next session the drummer had got a brand new pedal and it was all good after that.
I had a very hard time listing to some of the Zepplin stuff and especially Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"!!!
You can here every little click and tape splice, or when a track pops in and it is not exactly the right level yet.
Then there are other recordings that are very well edited and just sound Phenomenal like ELP's "From the Beginning" and "Lucky Man".
Spandau Ballet's "True" is another great vocal track but the kick drum click reaps havoc for my smaller amplifier!!
Much of David Bowie's stuff is good and the Spin Doctors just rock on my little panel just to name a few.
Jazzman helped a fellow friend and DIYer "Mavric" build his panels and they were about 16"wide and there is a few threads on that build Here,
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/planars-exotics/165495-start-finish-esl-hybrid.html#post2160924
And here,
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/planars-exotics/158115-material-esl.html#post2037964
jer
One of the papers I have is from Frank Verwaal, and it can be found here,
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/planars-exotics/48120-experiences-esl-directivity-2.html#post2203316
The other one is called,
"Wide-Range Electrostatic Loudspeaker with a
Zero-Free Polar Response" by D. R. White.
It is an AES Paper, I don't remember how I obtained it as it was either sent to me or I stumbled on it during a google search one day as sometimes I do find every once in a while whole books in PDF format that you otherwise have to pay a fee for, therefore I don't have a link to it, Sorry.
jer
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/planars-exotics/48120-experiences-esl-directivity-2.html#post2203316
The other one is called,
"Wide-Range Electrostatic Loudspeaker with a
Zero-Free Polar Response" by D. R. White.
It is an AES Paper, I don't remember how I obtained it as it was either sent to me or I stumbled on it during a google search one day as sometimes I do find every once in a while whole books in PDF format that you otherwise have to pay a fee for, therefore I don't have a link to it, Sorry.
jer
Just for your enjoyment I stumbled on the pictures of that little panel that burned up !!!
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/planars-exotics/203990-esl-woofer-anybody-game-3.html#post2882069
I was trying to see if the link to that paper is in here somewhere, But no such luck yet.
jer
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/planars-exotics/203990-esl-woofer-anybody-game-3.html#post2882069
I was trying to see if the link to that paper is in here somewhere, But no such luck yet.
jer
Thanks jer, guess I'll be reading a lot of the links you posted today.
I keep forgetting to mention the amp I use, and will be using unless something unforeseen happens.
It's an Emotiva XPA-5, and it's a fairly heavy hitter, here's are some partial specs copied from their website:
I also keep forgetting to mention that the electronics to my current flat ESLs was something that came with the panels.
About the only details I know of is that the bias supply feeds both panels, and that the step-up transfos are 50:1.
While they seem to work fine, I'm sure there are advantages to be had if I were to do build brand new, for instance, it would be great if the bias were variable, and each panel had it's own supply, I also would like the tranfos to have a larger step-up ratio.
As it is though with that amp, these can play ear-splittingly loud without the amp even breaking a sweat, but the dip to around 1.2 ohm at the higher frequencies makes me think that a higher step-up ratio would be safer in the long run. (better safe than sorry, and all that)
There's also a shelving EQ that starts a boost at 1kHz and rises down to the 400Hz area (not 500, [typo in earlier post) where they are crossed over.
All electrical components (EQ, transfos, bias supply) are stuffed into the same box that sits in the equipment rack, and the ESL wires run attached to the basement beams, then down inside the wall where they terminate to a plate type connection.
PS, thanks for chiming in bear, had a look at your amps on your page, awesome stuff bro..
Very true that anything I build is going to be a compromise/trade-off, just trying to decide which ones I wanna live with is all..
Have a great Sunday y'all...
cheers
-wreck
I keep forgetting to mention the amp I use, and will be using unless something unforeseen happens.
It's an Emotiva XPA-5, and it's a fairly heavy hitter, here's are some partial specs copied from their website:
So far I'm happy with it, we'll see though...
I also keep forgetting to mention that the electronics to my current flat ESLs was something that came with the panels.
About the only details I know of is that the bias supply feeds both panels, and that the step-up transfos are 50:1.
While they seem to work fine, I'm sure there are advantages to be had if I were to do build brand new, for instance, it would be great if the bias were variable, and each panel had it's own supply, I also would like the tranfos to have a larger step-up ratio.
As it is though with that amp, these can play ear-splittingly loud without the amp even breaking a sweat, but the dip to around 1.2 ohm at the higher frequencies makes me think that a higher step-up ratio would be safer in the long run. (better safe than sorry, and all that)
There's also a shelving EQ that starts a boost at 1kHz and rises down to the 400Hz area (not 500, [typo in earlier post) where they are crossed over.
All electrical components (EQ, transfos, bias supply) are stuffed into the same box that sits in the equipment rack, and the ESL wires run attached to the basement beams, then down inside the wall where they terminate to a plate type connection.
PS, thanks for chiming in bear, had a look at your amps on your page, awesome stuff bro..
Very true that anything I build is going to be a compromise/trade-off, just trying to decide which ones I wanna live with is all..
Have a great Sunday y'all...
cheers
-wreck
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It was the Frank Verwaal paper that had the info that I was referring to.
Keep in mind that if you increase your transformation ratio then it drops your overall impedance as well.
Therefore doubling the ratio increases your efficiency by 6db but drops the impedance by half as well.
Even though the amp may not have to work as hard to reach a certain SPL so there are some trade offs to consider.
Everytime you double the bias voltage this also increases the efficiency by 6db as well providing that your stator coating is up to it and doesn't arc through
It is safer for the amp to raise the Bias voltage than to raise the transformation ratio.
If your amp is capable of a high voltage swing then the lower ratio would be better if it is not suited for 2 ohm use.
The other thing to keep in mind is that due to the raising response of the panel and if EQ'ed properly, the low impedance at the highest frequency's is not so bad on the amplifier in the long run because it will be some 10db to 20db down compared to the midrange.
A slope of 6db per octave is equal to 10db per decade.
Considering a range of 200hz to 20Khz, There is a raise in the response of 20db that has to be compensated for in order for the panel to have a flat response at a distance, due to the dipole action of the driver.
Also you must consider the transformers stray capacitance as well as the panels capacitance when you determine your overall final impedance from your transformation ratio.
This is usually not so bad for larger panels.
But it is a big issue for my little panel designs as the transformers capacitance is much larger than my small panel by as much as 4 to 10 times.
Plus for comparison, The little panels don't have the surface area advantage of a large panel and that was why I had to push the voltages to such extreme levels to make them perform as well as they do.
Although, Once I start building a larger system, I will be applying what I have learned about the really high voltages to them as well!!!
FWIW
jer
Keep in mind that if you increase your transformation ratio then it drops your overall impedance as well.
Therefore doubling the ratio increases your efficiency by 6db but drops the impedance by half as well.
Even though the amp may not have to work as hard to reach a certain SPL so there are some trade offs to consider.
Everytime you double the bias voltage this also increases the efficiency by 6db as well providing that your stator coating is up to it and doesn't arc through
It is safer for the amp to raise the Bias voltage than to raise the transformation ratio.
If your amp is capable of a high voltage swing then the lower ratio would be better if it is not suited for 2 ohm use.
The other thing to keep in mind is that due to the raising response of the panel and if EQ'ed properly, the low impedance at the highest frequency's is not so bad on the amplifier in the long run because it will be some 10db to 20db down compared to the midrange.
A slope of 6db per octave is equal to 10db per decade.
Considering a range of 200hz to 20Khz, There is a raise in the response of 20db that has to be compensated for in order for the panel to have a flat response at a distance, due to the dipole action of the driver.
Also you must consider the transformers stray capacitance as well as the panels capacitance when you determine your overall final impedance from your transformation ratio.
This is usually not so bad for larger panels.
But it is a big issue for my little panel designs as the transformers capacitance is much larger than my small panel by as much as 4 to 10 times.
Plus for comparison, The little panels don't have the surface area advantage of a large panel and that was why I had to push the voltages to such extreme levels to make them perform as well as they do.
Although, Once I start building a larger system, I will be applying what I have learned about the really high voltages to them as well!!!
FWIW
jer
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Keep in mind that if you increase your transformation ratio then it drops your overall impedance as well.
Therefore doubling the ratio increases your efficiency by 6db but drops the impedance by half as well.
Even though the amp may not have to work as hard to reach a certain SPL so there are some trade offs to consider.
Everytime you double the bias voltage this also increases the efficiency by 6db as well providing that your stator coating is up to it and doesn't arc through
jer
You just saved me a possibly huge headache, thank you!
See? That's why I'm so glad I started this thread, I would probably have missed or glossed over this basic but very important info in another thread, but because it's here, I got it.
I looked for a repository of basic rules for wrapping all of this ESL building stuff up online but didn't find one, sure there's tons of info out there, but it's so widely scattered, and with so many variables, that it's difficult for a beginner.
I just borrowed back a copy of Sanders cookbook so that should help.
So it's on to researching panel insulations and bias limits for a given panel...(I think).
I already ordered a can of Licron crystal spray per Jazzman's blog, please tell me I didn't waste fifty bucks...please?
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Nope, Licron Crystal is awesome stuff, expensive but works great!!!
I have been meaning to make a sticky post with all of the more favorite informative threads but I just haven't got around to it yet.
I have a couple of posts that list many of the links already, But yes they get buried easily.
jer
I have been meaning to make a sticky post with all of the more favorite informative threads but I just haven't got around to it yet.
I have a couple of posts that list many of the links already, But yes they get buried easily.
jer
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