Bring Back the CLS

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,806
4,698
2,790
Portugal
Greg...Plitron manufacture an ESL step up transformer that a number of the DIY crowd have utilized.

http://www.plitron.com/standard-toroidal-transformers/electrostatic-speaker-step-up-transformers/

The turns ratio of the transformers in the CLS is critical - as far as I remember seeing in some old CLS diagrams they used two transformers - one for bass/medium and the other for medium/treble. However if you still have one working transformer it is very easy to measure it.
 

mullard88

Well-Known Member
Jun 5, 2010
948
62
1,588
Hi Jack,

I mean the tower horizontal across the floor with all the drivers firing forward.
 

zbub

Well-Known Member
Jun 27, 2013
119
48
333
I still have my CLS 1s for over 30 years! Granted they are currently stored away and don't get much playing time, but since they are quite thin they don't take up too much space to store. IIRC ML can always produce new 'stat panels for them, so keeping them up to date is not a huge issue. Last time I hooked them up was about a year and half ago and in certain aspects they are still fantastic sounding speakers. Clean, clear, fast, and quite dynamic on smaller scale ensembles. In order for any CLS-based system to sound balanced, tubes are necessary in part of the signal chain. The CLS 1s are really not that hard to drive. CLS 2s are much more demanding.
 

apogee

Well-Known Member
Oct 5, 2013
28
0
296
Still have mine and what a sound,still wondering if i will change for wilson sasha
pierre
 

Bso

Well-Known Member
Sep 30, 2016
98
18
138
Massachusetts/Toronto
Still have mine and what a sound,still wondering if i will change for wilson sasha
pierre

Consider the new Sound Lab electrostatics line. The small ones (M-545s, U-545s) are more transparent than any speaker on the market. And they have bass below 30Hz. The larger ones for larger rooms are mindboggling. If the music has slam they have slam. Check out the reviews on enjoythemusic.com. They are not your father's Sound Labs.
 

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