New Electrostats From Essence Audio In The Netherlands Re-Define The Value Proposition For High End Speakers
One look at today's mix of highly acclaimed loudspeakers proves the adage "everything old is new again". The same old 20th century magnet-driven mechanical pistons moving heavy diaphram cones or domes inside big, heavy boxes with big prices. Is any pair of speakers worth $125,000? It's fair to say that Arnie Nudel is the father of the modern day high-end speaker business. In the 1970's, his Infinity Servo-Static 1 Speaker System was the first of its kind. Everything else that came after it was based on this design, including almost all of today's most highly acclaimed brands. We pay homage to Arnie by using his current top-of-the-line Genesis Model v1.2 as a point of comparison to the Essence Electrostats.
The Genesis 1.2 System $125K
These features are considered by most audiophiles to be the hallmarks of a high end speaker today.
The cost and complexity of building the speaker boxes is huge. Cabinet resonance is the leading cause of coloration and distortion, damping these sonic boom boxes down to the point where they are acoustically inert is required. Making them silent through internal bracing and the use of exotic materials takes up 80% of the construction budget. A lot of money is spent on making a box thats makes no sound of its own. Its the ultimate irony.
Lets compare the Essence Electrostatic Speaker. The first thing you notice is NO BOXES. Eliminating the speaker enclosure is the fastest and best way to eliminate unwanted cabinet resonances that color the sound. Instead of paying for furniture you dont need, you pay for pure technology, the actual speaker that reproduces music more faithfully than any speaker on the market today.
An electrostatic speaker has no woofers, mid-range drivers or tweeters; as you can see, a single see-through "lighter than air" membrane is suspended between two plates; there are no voice-coils and no magnets to slow things down and no crossovers sucking certain frequencies away. We replace multiple devices with their multiple moving parts, with a single diaphram that lowers distortion by 200%! It's a true line-source, capable of lobing its full range of frequencies to your listening position with such precision that something truly magical happens when listening to music.......the speakers disappear and the music is presented as it was recorded, nothing more, nothing less.
Essence Electrostats convert the electrical signal to acoustic energy with one moving part instead of many. In this new era of digital throughput, one listen is all it takes, that's why those who own electrostats talk about having reached audio nirvana. The feeling of awe and wonder that gives you goosebumps when you hear it tells you that this is something special in a world full of imitation.
The adoption of Blu-ray makes it even more compelling. For the first time in audio history, since the beginning of recorded music and playback systems, music lovers have access to a virtual one-to-one copy of the original master recording, the uncompressed multi-channel soundtracks delivered via a protected Bitstream connection called HDMI. This all digital throughput, without DACs, has 50% more dynamic range than any other current format, such as CD, DVD, SACD, and FLAC files. It requires the latest Dolby TruHD and / or DTS MasterHD processors to be heard using at least v1.3 HDMI or above, a feature not found on most audiophile preamps but in the least expensive Audio Video Receivers, an irony for the audiophile community.
Since Blu-ray became the standard for HD content, audiophiles have been badly served by the manufacturers of two channel preamps who can't afford the licensing requirements of HDMI, DTS, and Dolby. Technology finally allows us to hear the very best audio content, yet the audio industry is stuck in 2007. If you want to hear the best content, you simply have to have an HDMI connection that protects the copyrights of the artists. You cant copy these recordings, you can only own them and play them back for your own pleasure, and for most of us, the rewards are so great we dont care. If you've seen the difference between standard definition television and HD, then you will understand that electrostats are the only choice now for the speed and articulation of digital content. Electrostats by Essence are 10 times faster than conventional magnet driven cones, its not even close.
