atigus1953

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.25 of 5, 8.00 votes

Price Paid:  $200.00 from yard sale

Summary:
Found these at a yard sale. Asking 500.00 but got them for 200.00. This is my 4th pair. Only reason I have sold others in the past was because of low ceiling height. These speakers seem to do most things very well. Running them with a 100 watt hybrid int-amp. In my room they image nice. Bass is nice and tight, and as other owners say, no listener fatigue. I am not sure, but this pair that I have now dont seem to have that 1 sweet spot where if you move your head approx a foot or so either way, you lose that side. (beaming) I think they call it? Anyway, I removed the grill cloth (cat attacked) and also used a hair-dryer (carefully) to tighten up the membranes. Cheap upgrades. Opened up the sound considerbly. Will try spikes to see if there are any improvements.

Strengths:
Excellent image, nice and tight bass, maybe not the lowest.. non-fatigue factor.

Weaknesses:
Getting the right room and amp.

Similar Products Used:
Acoustat 2+2, Acoustat 3, 1, 4, Quad esl-63, Yamaha NS1000M (for sale), Martin Logan CLS2z, Sequel,

Price Paid:  $800.00 from ebay

Summary:
I bought these "prevously owned" (used) 1+1s on ebay in Dec. of 2002 to go with my (modified) Acoustat 2+2s. They were in fair shape and easily repairable/upgradable. New black grille socks make them a good match to my 2+2s looks-wise as well as sound-wise. The 1+1s are used as the rear channels in SACD music and DVD movie playback. I am collecting Acoustat parts to make a center channel speaker. As per the 2+2s, I updated the the capacitors, fuseholders, input terminals, high voltage bias circuit, and resistors inside the interface unit. Unlike my 2+2s, the 1+1s have the medallion transformers. Sonically, the 1+1s have the same general qualities as the 2+2s. The horizontal dispersion is a little better, due to the relative narrowness of the 1+1s over the 2+2s. On the other hand, the 2+2s have somewhat more autority and weight due to the larger panel area of the 2+2s being able to descend lower in the bass realm. Overall, I am very pleased with the (modified) 1+1s. As with the 2+2s, I can listen for hours and not get a headache, which is saying something.

Strengths:
Clarity, low distortion, and seemless integration of the frequency ranges. Being able to listen for extended periods of time without devloping "listener fatigue". See my comments on the Acoustat 2+2s.

Weaknesses:
Low bass extension, more so than with the 2+2s.

Similar Products Used:
Acoustat 2+2s, modified

Price Paid:  $800.00 from ebay

Summary:
I bought these "prevously owned" (used) 1+1s on ebay in Dec. of 2002 to go with my (modified) Acoustat 2+2s. They were in fair shape and easily repairable/upgradable. New black grille socks make them a good match to my 2+2s looks-wise as well as sound-wise. The 1+1s are used as the rear channels in SACD music and DVD movie playback. I am collecting Acoustat parts to make a center channel speaker. As per the 2+2s, I updated the the capacitors, fuseholders, input terminals, high voltage bias circuit, and resistors inside the interface unit. Unlike my 2+2s, the 1+1s have the medallion transformers. Sonically, the 1+1s have the same general qualities as the 2+2s. The horizontal dispersion is a little better, due to the relative narrowness of the 1+1s over the 2+2s. On the other hand, the 2+2s have somewhat more autority and weight due to the larger panel area of the 2+2s being able to descend lower in the bass realm. Overall, I am very pleased with the (modified) 1+1s. As with the 2+2s, I can listen for hours and not get a headache, which is saying something.

Strengths:
Clarity, low distortion, and seemless integration of the frequency ranges. Being able to listen for extended periods of time without devloping "listener fatigue". See my comments on the Acoustat 2+2s.

Weaknesses:
Low bass extension, more so than with the 2+2s.

Similar Products Used:
Acoustat 2+2s, modified

Price Paid:  $1250.00 from Audio, etc.; Jacksonville, FL

Summary:
I have the 1+1S (with subwoofer) that I bought new in their first year of production (always thought I got them in '83, but have recently learned they weren't made until 1984). I am still using them, 17 years later.

I have always bi-amped them with Audio Research electronics as follows:

EC-21 crossover
D-60 (solid state) dedicated to the subwoofer
D-90 (tubes) dedicated to the panels

and they sound so good that I've never tried them any other way. I suspect bi-amping reveals these speakers' full capabilities, some of which are compromised using a single amplifier setup (even more so than other speakers).

I also use the Beveridge pre-amp when it's working.

You can listen all day without fatigue. I've never felt that urge to move "up" to something "better" in a speaker, or that there was more to hear in my recordings, though perhaps this reflects limits to my "audiophileness" as much as it speaks for the speakers.

Strengths:
Transparency, imaging, immediacy, clarity, speed, balance, 'musical'-ness.

Weaknesses:
None of any significance.

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from Manufacturer, Fort Lauderdale

Summary:
Stunning with brass-band music. Anyone out there with a suggestion how to modify them?

Strengths:
Upper bass,mids and lower highs. I use 2 pairs connected in parallell which makes a tough load on the amp, an Audio Research 100 transistor amp.

Weaknesses:
Demanding load. Difficult to set upp for proper imaging. Kind of plastic coloration in lower mid.