http://www.involveaudio.com/audio.php?id=33&pid=10
The speaker evaluation kit contains a pair of panels, a step up transformer and a DC power supply , essentially everything you need for a speaker to work from its lower frequency response of around 200Hz to 20Khz.
You also need a bass driver to fill in the bottom end <200Hz and a crossover.
As I was so impressed with the Dragons I had to try the FP-440 Sonic Panel to see if there was a similarity in sound, and the price certainly makes it a very attractive proposition.
To get the system going I used a pair of subwoofers I have in my workshop that use an Acoustic Elegance 18" driver in sealed boxes. The AE drivers are very good, have very clean deep bass but they are also very linear up to 1Khz, which makes them perfect for integrating with the Sonic Panel.
For a crossover I used a DEQX digital crossover- this has the optional Jensen output transformers and is a very nice, analogue type sounding digital active crossover.
I like 12dB 2nd order crossovers for stats and used a 220Hz crossover point.
From a myriad of amps in the workshop the closest was a 100 watt Redgum solid state amp I quite like, so that was connected to the Sonic Panels and a Parasound 200 watter was connected to the bass speakers.
I used the Parasound as it has level controls and I figured the bass level would have to be adjusted down to suit the Sonic Panels 88dB sensitivity. Of course any worthwhile system has to have some tubes in it, so I used a 6SN7/71A DHT preamp to drive the power amps.
It took me no more than 30 minutes to set everything up and have music playing.
First impressions were that this is different: most stats have a rising treble but this panel sounds very smooth , it sounds very much like it's published frequency response- very flat response. The detail/micro-dynamics of electrostatic drivers is still there, but it is not forceful or in your face as much as some stats can be. The Dragons can be a bit too un-restrained sometimes, especially with badly recorded music (they're just being truthful really), but the Sonic Panels are always very enjoyable and easy to listen to.
They dont go as loud as the Dragons, obviously, as they have only less than half the panel area of the Dragons, but still have more than enough output for the average listening room.
Over a period of a week listening to them I've quite enjoyed them, I have them in a very large workshop which is not an ideal listening environment, and this should be borne in mind in context of my impressions, but with JRiver in shuffle mode I've listened to a lot of different music while working on preamps in the early hours of the morning and late at night.
I've often been drawn over to the listening seat to have a closer listen to something that sounded interesting, and always found the sound to be very satisfying- it is not the strident "studio monitor" sound that can sometimes be tiring , but a very natural, musical sound. Quite different from most stats and something that I think is very worthwhile.
Like the Dragons, imaging is very good, they throw a good 3D effect, with excellent width and depth, the crossover has a lot to do with this.
I think they are a real bargain, and recommend them for anyone who would like to try stat sound at a very affordable price.
I'll soon take them into my main listening room , try tube amps, different crossovers, etc, and report on how they go.
Whats next? I'm going to order another pair of panels to double up and see how that sounds. More is better? Maybe, maybe not.
I've also ordered a pair of AE 15" dipole drivers as I want to make a simple frame using a slim open baffle design. It may work with the Sonic Panels and it may not, we shall see.
http://www.aespeakers.com/drivers.php?driver_id=32
