Introduction The Martin Logan Re-Quest is a hybrid electrostatic - dynamic loudspeaker system that uses a 30 degree curved electrostatic panel mounted to a dynamic subwoofer enclosure featuring a 12 inch, cast mounted driver crossed over at 280 Hz. Re-Quests are quite large, standing a little under 6 feet tall, 18 inches wide and about a foot deep. The panel's diaphragm is made of a super light proprietary vapor deposited polyester film and housed in a perforated, insulated steel frame. This diaphragm moves back and forth in small increments when fed an audio signal, thus creating Martin Logan's signature mid and high frequency sound. While the dynamic low frequency driver is not rear ported, the electrostatic panel does fire both ways making the Re-Quest quite room and placement sensitive. Re-Quests come with bass equalization, which proves to be ...

Introduction The APM-1 loudspeaker from Genesis Technologies strikes the perfect balance between beauty and performance with its unaffected and true-to-life sonic qualities. The exquisite 11 inch wide cherry front baffle, houses two 6.5 inch metal cone mid-bass couplers, a 5.5 inch titanium coned midrange driver and two 1 inch planar ribbon tweeters. Occupying space within the same enclosure is a 500-watt amplifier that drives the single 15 inch metal cone side-firing woofer. The ribbon tweeters are hand crafted using a super thin laminated membrane of aluminum and Kapton, measuring only .0005 of an inch thick. The ribbons are placed inside the speaker enclosure in a dipole design, producing sound from both the front and rear with one driver out of phase with the other. Mid-bass couplers are used as a sound bridge between the midrange driver and the subwoofer. The woofer is servo controlled and driven by the Genesis GSAT power amplifier, achieving low frequency ...

In the eye of the beholder My first encounter with MartinLogan electrostatic loudspeakers came years back. Like most newcomers to this genre of speaker, I greeted them with amazement. I found the sheer glamour of this futuristic speaker to be simply awesome. The SL3s have a retail price of $3,400 for the standard black or natural oak trim. They stand 64 inches tall and are a sleek 13 inches wide. The basic construction of this hybrid loudspeaker consists of a side- supported perforated panel, which you can see right through. The electrostatic panel sits atop the integrated low-frequency speaker enclosure. Connection options include hand-tightened bi-wire posts with banana plug inputs. The reason to be passionate about this unique speaker is its electrostatic technology. Simply explained, the lower mid- range through the top octaves are created by taking two pieces of perforated steel, then sandwiching a thin film of clear conductive plastic between them. The electrostatic ...

Introduction The Hales Revelation Three is one of the newest members of the Revelation Series of loudspeakers manufactured by the Hales Design Group. Fitting right in line with Hales' two smaller models and their center channel, it is now possible to exclusively feature Hales speakers in assembling a coherent 5.1 surround system that has some serious punch. Visiting the Huntington Beach, California factory to pick up my review samples, I was warmly greeted by both Paul Hales and Hales' sales and marketing manager Casey McKee who were kind enough to give me a tour of the highly automated plant and explain some of the design philosophies behind Hales' current line of loudspeakers. The Three is a three-way design utilizing a 10 inch woofer of proprietary design, a 4.5 inch midrange and a 1 inch dome tweeter. The cabinets may be ordered in oak, black painted oak, sapele (which looks like rosewood) or natural cherry (which ...

Introduction Cello Stradivari Legends are a $7000, 3-way dynamic loudspeaker system inspired by the cabinet style made famous by the legendary AR3 loudspeakers of the mid 1960's. Cello, the brainchild of Mr. Mark Levinson since 1984, builds rounded corner, exotic wood finished loudspeakers that utilize a highly efficient crossover with a compliment of three Dyn Audio drivers (a 1 inch tweeter, a 3 inch dome mid range and a 12 inch woofer). The cabinet is dampened by the internal use of a thin, green composite also used by NASA space shuttles, thus knocking on the cabinet is a futile exercise in that it lacks any significant resonance. Legends are 26.5 inches tall, 14 inches wide and 12 inches deep, thus they need the help of a Cello/Lovan six prong, lead shot filled ($700) speaker stand to fit into a standard audio or theater system. Cello showrooms will make custom angled Legends that can either sit ...