Room placement is that critical with stats?
I'm sure bandphan will help you out, but my answer is yes. I'm also using 150 lbs of treatment on the front wall, as well as a 4.75" 30 lb treatment on asymmetrical left wall in the living room. I temporarily place and remove this last treatment for critical listening. I even tried the dedicated stereo room this year, with poor results because the room is just awful. In all, I've used my stats in three rooms in the last year and a half.
Space is key. Space from the front wall, as has been noted. Space of
your position from the rear wall. If your room is of typical size, expect a sweetspot with that famous electrostat imaging of about 1 to max 2 listeners. Your room will have to be pretty huge to get three people in that general sweetspot. And these three people are pretty friendly and affectionate too.
WmAx claims that its easy for him to exceed these speaker's qualities. I'm not one to argue. I've never built a speaker. All I will say is that all of my advanced formal education is in classical music performance, from perennial top music schools in the US, as well as in Europe, where I also taught for two years, as well having performed in 5 countries.
This investment was huge for me. Hell, the msrp of the stereo pair is worth 5x the KBB of my pickup truck. I spent a half year or so in auditioning relentlessly. I met double digit dealers. I filled up an entire Mead notepad with notes. I always had at least 6 different cd's on me. Dealers would see how nuts I was, and they would leave the store to get lunch and trust me all alone for an hour at a time. I've listened to the pair I chose in at least a few different places. I've listened to the best speakers that I could possibly find in the S California area, including a couple of pairs that are close to 6 figure digits.
I had to revisit the stats about 4-5 times, because I had to be sure that I wanted them with all of their compromises.
Nothing touched the natural, realistic, phase-coherent, detailed audio IMO, particularly for vocal music which I find to be a real tremendous test. The hybrid design has compromises, and even with voice can you possibly somewhat detect it with the bass, but if you are in the tessitura of the tenor or higher . . . Put it this way, tenors/countertenors
never sounded as clear. This really, for me, helps to highlight counterpoint in polyphonic music. Its often this area of the midrange that is just not even close, for the money, in every other speaker I've heard. Just my impressions for now.
Now, other speakers I might actually prefer for orchestral. The consistency of timbre from top to bottom was better with other fine brands, even if a colored consistency. Its just that doing the voice right was really important to me, and this was good as it ever got, in my opinion, in my limited experiences. Many fine brands produced much more sibilance than the stats did. I detest sibilance. Its probably my #1 hate of any speaker. When I am making these comparisons, I am doing so with others that range from $4,000 to $90,000.
But, like I've already told you in your other thread, you better really love 'em if they're going to be for your HT as well. They do get beamy at higher SPL.
I'm not saying I am right. Just my experiences with a particular perspective.
