who likes tubes and ESL?

Sockpuppet of banned account
Joined 2024
Hi everybody

I am new here but not new in audio designs specially for ESL and Tube amplifiers.
My normall interests lie in electrostatic speaker designs in combination with tube amplifiers, all do-it-yourself. All aspects.

John (off Johannes)
 
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My former colleague Frank Verwaal used to have a website with lots of information about ESL design and his build, but apparently the site doesn't exist anymore. Some of the material is still available elsewhere, like here: https://www.statco.it/Docs/ESL_English_2011.pdf

I made a hybrid direct-drive amplifier for it, but unfortunately the 2 kV peak maximum output voltage was too low. https://www.diyaudio.com/community/attachments/hoogspanningsversterker2-pdf.1266579/ The full schematic must also be somewhere, but I can't find it right now.

@jan.didden is working on a much more efficient hybrid direct-drive amplifier with a higher maximum output voltage. See https://audioxpress.com/article/you-can-diy-edd-a-direct-drive-amplifier-for-electrostatic-speakers for an earlier version.

@Lampie519 made all-valve direct-drive amplifiers.
 
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Welcome!

Ever since i've seen jazzman mk3 build with dipoles, i wanted to build them. I have a feeling they sound amazing. But my limiting factor are little ones, and it's simply too much of a risk. When they get old enough, i'll allow myself into more high voltage waters with both speakers and tube amplification.
 
Hello everybody, i am glad that i am not alone.

I started in the past with an early version of Audiostatic es200 combined with a standard pp tube amplifier.
Later on i build my own esl with more segmentations and no mirror drive. Then i discovered that the transformers in the Audiostic where very limited at the low frequencies and high frequencies too so i decided to make some custum esl transformers specially designed for segmented esl.

I heared about the work from Frank Verwaal but before that i readed some work from a Natlab guy EH Spring (i am not sure if this name is correct but somebody who worked for the Phillips Natlab in the past) Excellent articles he wrote about esl.
 
Welcome!

Ever since i've seen jazzman mk3 build with dipoles, i wanted to build them. I have a feeling they sound amazing. But my limiting factor are little ones, and it's simply too much of a risk. When they get old enough, i'll allow myself into more high voltage waters with both speakers and tube amplification.
They sound very good even if you build a very primitive esl. For great results, it's harder. High voltage can cause many problems, but if you build carefully with good insulation materials, that part is easy. The design is part two, I prefer segmented esl. And finally, how to manage them? If you are using an ESL transformer, you have to invest a lot of money for a good ESL transformer and a good ESL transformer is not easy to find.
I ended with making my own transformer.
 
I have heared some in the past (acoustat and a direct driven diy version when i was at the ETF long time ago, Remco...Ultranalog was his site at that time)

Difficult question because it is the holy grale but i never heard that version.