The Sound
Contents
An electrostatic speaker is a totally different experience than a dynamic speaker. This has to do with a couple of things.
- The source is a large foil which plays straight ahead
- it practically doesn’t play sideways, up or down…
- It is a dipole system, which plays forwards and backwards
- You can also hear the back wall because it reflects the energy…
- It is an ultra-thin and light foil which is attracted and repelled over the entire surface
- This gives a lot of control and speed
These are three things that come to mind right away when we think of the biggest differences. There are probably more, but these, in our opinion, have the greatest impact on the reproduction.
Placement
As mentioned in our Academy series on speakers, the placement of a dipole is different – in most cases, it’s more challenging – than a dynamic speaker. The rear wall plays a direct role and this has to be taken into account.
In addition, the sweet spot of most electrostatic speakers is simply smaller due to the panel shape. And yes: you will have to take that into account as well. If it’s all right and you’re sitting comfortably then an electrostatic really blows your mind. There is no comparison with a dynamic system. And the fact is: there are enthusiasts who have nothing but nothing with it: the directness, the speed … it has to be your thing.
We do like it, because it gives so unprecedented insight into the music. The distortion in the midrange is – in this case – just insanely low. And that’s audible. Voices, for example, have a prescence that can’t be compared to a dynamic speaker that has more coloration there (in many cases). Also, the speed in the high range is almost addictive. High-hats sparkle and are particularly easy to follow. You can almost hear a difference in attack and brass, that’s how much detail this Final puts out there. Very impressive.
The layer
We may conclude that the panel of the Final Model 5 is of high quality. And that it can let you hear a lot when everything is right. But what about the bass? The connection of the woofer to the mids and highs.
We have a bit of double feelings there. Partly because it’s not adjustable, we had to do some fitting and measuring and finally a small modification was done. After that it fitted much better. Final is going to implement this modification. However, we simply always recommend the active version because it is much more accurate to adjust.
The Seas woofer is beautiful by the way. And the transition is hardly audible, if at all. Does it have the resolution and offer the insight of the mid and high? Hmm… that’s hard to say. It’s nice bass, but still we get the feeling that the active version is going to be better than the passive version. Perhaps we can compare that at some point.
Overall
Now we haven’t talked about the price at all. The Final Model 5 Hybrid costs 6500 euros per pair. And when we look at the competition and qualities, we have to take a bow. Because this level of resolution is unprecedented in this class. We have never measured such low distortion and that is audible. Voices have a “realness” and focus that cannot be achieved with a dynamic speaker in this class. It’s a very special experience.
However, there are also things that can get in the way. The bass for example, can get in the way of achieving a satisfying quality. The active version will be much less affected by this. We therefore really recommend choosing the version with amplification and dsp. You will really tackle many problems with it.
Placement of a dipole is also different; you must take care of you acoustics a bit more seriously. But well: that is actually true for all speakers … if you want an optimal result, acoustics always play a prominent role.