• Electrostatic Speaker Problem -- Is This Common?

    From ajakubinsky6@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Wed Aug 21 17:57:23 2019
    בתאריך יום שלישי, 27 בדצמבר 1994 בשעה
    20:48:18 UTC+2, מאת Dave Lynch:
    Hi all,
    Does anyone have any thoughts on the following problem?

    Two years ago I bought a pair of used Martin Logan CLS I's. The
    seller told me that the stat panels had been replaced about two
    years prior.

    About one year later, the volume output of one of the speakers
    began to degrade. I was able to compensate by adjusting my
    balance knob. Nine months later, the other speaker's volumn
    output also began to degrade. Currently, they are both equal
    but the output level is so low, they are unlistenable.

    An acquaintance of mine had to replace the stat panels in his
    Martin Logan Sequel II's at about three years. Is this a
    coincidence?

    I live about 30 miles from the coast in San Diego county. I don't
    believe I have a humidity problem though. The speakers also never receive direct sunlight. I rarely vacuum clean the stat panels but they
    don't seem to accumulate much dust either. My amp (Hafler 200,
    please no comments!) supplies ~100 watts per channel, well below the
    200 watt maximum.

    Is there a common problem with electrostatics in that the stat
    panels have a known short lifespan? Is this common with
    Martin Logan? Is this due to poor quality control? Is this
    due to abuse?

    I believe that the stat panels should last much longer than
    3-4 years. Do owners of other electrostatic speakers have
    to replace their stat panels often?

    I spoke with a Martin Logan tech and he said that this doesn't
    sound familiar, or common. He said I can trade in my stat
    panels for a new (refurbished?) set for $650 (plus shipping). I
    don't want to shell out this kind of money every 3-4 years!!

    My local dealer also said that he hadn't heard of this problem
    either. However, a long time Martin Logan dealer in the L.A.
    area does know of this problem. He said that sometimes the
    conductive layer of the speaker membrane will get a "break",
    usually in the corners. Thus the membrane won't accumulate the
    proper static charge and won't play properly. He also
    thought that $650 was very fair for replacement.

    Has anyone had similar experiences? Any thoughts or ideas?

    Thanks,
    Ken Middaugh
    ken@atcwest.com
    (619) 571-6749 day
    (619) 749-0227 eve.


    Hi all ML owners,

    Ihave had been usin my Sequel II - Martin Logan's fantastic ESLs since Aug. 1990 !!! connected to Hafler 300w per chanel amp fused by 2A normal blow fuses
    all these years!!

    I had my first issue with one panel only after 3 months of use, (Balance issue) I noticed that the sound "moved" to the left area of the speaker yet, in almost a full db of sound pressure., I have contacted ML and got a brand new pair of panels shipped by airplane to Israel free of charge, after installing the new pair the speakers
    worked 20 years without any degradation signs until recent year after moving to my new home by the sea-shore...(28 year ) that the sound got weaker and weaker from the static section yet evenly. I have read your comments in this forum and I am going to
    check several parts, btw, after air-conditioning the room the sound level from the stat gets much better.

    1. Power supply (Required HV voltmeter range that is not a common one)
    2. Capacitance of the Hi frequency crossover's capacitors in each speaker.
    (I hope the value is registered on them)
    3. The "corona" damages mention before.
    4. I used to work for CISCO SYSTEMS back then, and remember using a static
    Electricity measuring device, I may borrow one and hope to get some
    Information out of it and for your information, if you unplug the AC and the sound immediately drops it means that the problem is more likely has to do with the level of the power supply voltage.

    Please contact me if you would like to share your experiences hereto.

    Best Regards

    Avigdor Jakubinsky
    www.dorylux.com
    972-54-4424848
    myemail@netvision.net.il
    ajakubinsky6@gmail.com


    Avigdor Jakubinsky
    www.dorylux.com
    972-54-4424848
    myemail@netvision.net.il
    ajakubinsky6@gmail.com

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