NEWPORT 2016: SANDERS FLAT-OUT BUSTS ELECTROSTATIC MYTHS
Visitors to Sanders Sound Systems’ small, second-floor room at T.H.E. Show in Newport encountered a demo that could have made a fascinating episode of the Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters.
Among the commonly held beliefs easily disproved were: hybrid electrostatics can’t play loud, lack dynamic impact, roll off high frequencies, and have trouble integrating their cone-driven lower ends with their panels.
One by one, those stereotypes fell as a Sanders representative played a wide variety of test tracks ranging from classical works and acoustic guitar instrumentals to Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
. . . The overall result of the Sanders system, with all equipment engaged, was an amazing transducer that mixed Quad-like magic in the mids with the solidity and unflappable dynamics throughout the frequency range of a top conventional cone design. While the Model 10d could handle rock and complex orchestral music with ease, it especially painted beautiful aural pictures on more spare vocal tracks such as Nelson’s “Stardust.” The latter song, instead of sounding like you were listening to a playback on a decent studio system, was closer to being there for the real thing.
