Final is back!

[oldric_naubhoff]

to whom it may concern,

Final, a Dutch producer of ESL speakers, are back in business after a period of unfair wrestling for power within the board and consecutive bankruptcy. Maarten Smiths, the man who designed and started Final, has started now Essence. I hope there will be no more problems with funding and dogy investors.

those 1600s in transparent blue look really alluring (did I just find my next speakers? ).

 

[John Duncan]

Oh my...

 

[Electro]

If they sound as good as they look :exmark: 8)

 

[fr0g]

Listen to music and top up your tan....simultaneously...

 

[hoopsontoast]

Nice, I think the blue works quite well. I never heard any of the old brand though.

 

[DocG]

Just dropped Mr. Smits an e-mail to ask for a list of dealers. Hope there's one within reach...

Thanks for the tip, once more!

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

If they sound as good as they look :exmark: 8)

what do you expect? they are ESLs. they are bound to sound good 8)

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

Nice, I think the blue works quite well. I never heard any of the old brand though.

you can still find some reviews of Final Sound speakers on the net. I find this one particularly useful as there are some useful measurements included. note very high SPLs at which the measurements were taken::

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_1/final-sound-400i-speakers-2-2006-part-1.html

and there's another one of 1000i. apparently this is the one which is the work of the original designer. other speakers in the old range were included after the takeover and were slightly modified over the original:

http://www.essenceelectrostatic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Final-1000i-review.pdf

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

Just dropped Mr. Smits an e-mail to ask for a list of dealers. Hope there's one within reach...

Thanks for the tip, once more!

not a bother. I'm on a constant lookout for my exit speakers myself so there's no problem to report if I find something interesting. it's a shame though I live so far away from the hi-fi business so I have big trouble auditioning. I can always nominate you my official ears since it seems you too enjoy what panel speakers do well.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

to whom it may concern,

Final, a Dutch producer of ESL speakers, are back in business after a period of unfair wrestling for power within the board and consecutive bankruptcy. Maarten Smiths, the man who designed and started Final, has started now Essence. I hope there will be no more problems with funding and dogy investors.

those 1600s in transparent blue look really alluring (did I just find my next speakers? ).

Hi oldric_naubhoff

Very nice

although the panels look a bit like vertical blinds

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[DocG]

you can still find some reviews of Final Sound speakers on the net. I find this one particularly useful as there are some useful measurements included. note very high SPLs at which the measurements were taken:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_1/final-sound-400i-speakers-2-2006-part-1.html

Though they're "full range" ESLs (-3dB at 48 Hz), the reviewer suggests to combine them with a pair of good subs, crossing them over at 120 Hz, because of high THD levels at 100 Hz. I suppose you then exchange one problem for another. Any comments?

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

to whom it may concern,

Final, a Dutch producer of ESL speakers, are back in business after a period of unfair wrestling for power within the board and consecutive bankruptcy. Maarten Smiths, the man who designed and started Final, has started now Essence. I hope there will be no more problems with funding and dogy investors.

those 1600s in transparent blue look really alluring (did I just find my next speakers? ).

Hi oldric_naubhoff

Very nice

although the panels look a bit like vertical blinds

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

well, I'm biased. I like the look of panel speakers. and those ones IMO look better than most.

 

[DocG]

Just dropped Mr. Smits an e-mail to ask for a list of dealers. Hope there's one within reach...

Thanks for the tip, once more!

not a bother. I'm on a constant lookout for my exit speakers myself so there's no problem to report if I find something interesting. it's a shame though I live so far away from the hi-fi business so I have big trouble auditioning. I can always nominate you my official ears since it seems you too enjoy what panel speakers do well.

I might get me a cooler user name, then: Oldric's_Ears. Yeah, I like that! :cheers:

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

you can still find some reviews of Final Sound speakers on the net. I find this one particularly useful as there are some useful measurements included. note very high SPLs at which the measurements were taken:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_1/final-sound-400i-speakers-2-2006-part-1.html

Though they're "full range" ESLs (-3dB at 48 Hz), the reviewer suggests to combine them with a pair of good subs, crossing them over at 120 Hz, because of high THD levels at 100 Hz. I suppose you then exchange one problem for another. Any comments?

panel speakers need a lot of surface area to recreate deep bass at volume levels comparable with higher frequencies. I always take claims of low end extension in panel speakers (especially ESLs because planar magnetic are slightly better in low end extension) with a grain of salt. those reviewed 400I are only about 122cm high and 25 cm wide. you can't expect high low end SPLs from such a small radiating area. you want deep bass from panels you need big panels (due to dipole cancellation). there's no way escaping that.

in another review I found a nice trick how to set up smallish panel speakers well with a powered subwoofer. if you're using a pre/power feeding the panel speakers you could use a capacitor between the preamp and power amp to cut off low frequencies. a single capacitor will work as a 1st order (6dB slope) high pass filter. the benefit of such arrangement is you get nice, even speaker roll-off in which case you can easier integrate the panel with the subwoofer (subwoofer will have a low pass filter already included). and using the high pass filter between the preamp and power amp will benefit in needing a much smaller value capacitor than after the power amp. this will not work as well with an integrated amp though because you need to filter out low frequencies after the preamp section but you could use a bigger capacitor after the power amp section (bigger high quality capacitors are quite expensive mind you). this is a very neat compromise IMO. OK, a full range panel speaker will have a better defined low bass due to low moving mass of the diaphragm, but few can accommodate such big speakers in their rooms (we're talking of at least Magnepan 3.7). in the situation described above you get a relatively compact two way full range system with crossover point at 100Hz. crossover is not a good thing in signal path but if it's inevitable than there would be two points where it's least intrusive. and that's below 200Hz and above 10kHz. for best integration I'd use a dual subwoofer arrangement.

hope this helps but ask away if you have more questions.

 

[steve_1979]

They look nice.

 

[BigH]

Why are the prices in US$?

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

Just dropped Mr. Smits an e-mail to ask for a list of dealers. Hope there's one within reach...

Thanks for the tip, once more!

not a bother. I'm on a constant lookout for my exit speakers myself so there's no problem to report if I find something interesting. it's a shame though I live so far away from the hi-fi business so I have big trouble auditioning. I can always nominate you my official ears since it seems you too enjoy what panel speakers do well.

I might get me a cooler user name, then: Oldric's_Ears. Yeah, I like that! :cheers:

I like that too . sounds better than Sauron's_Voice to me .

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

Why are the prices in US$?

just guessing. maybe the main target is the USA? and since they do factory direct sales it makes sense to quote in $?

 

[BigH]

Why are the prices in US$?

just guessing. maybe the main target is the USA? and since they do factory direct sales it makes sense to quote in $?

I guess so, still a bit odd for a European company.

 

[Ajani]

I knew they had returned, but I wasn't aware of the new colour. Very nice.

The Final Sound 400i was one of my favourite "affordable" speakers, so I really hope this return to business is sucessful.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

I think they may be the end of my hifi journey, especially if they sound better than the Magnepans and you can hang them off walls.

Have emailed them re pricing and availability.

 

[CnoEvil]

I think they may be the end of my hifi journey, especially if they sound better than the Magnepans and you can hang them off walls.

Have emailed them re pricing and availability.

Match them with Oldric's Class A amp that he's dug up, and you will have a system to die for. :shifty:

 

[DocG]

Just dropped Mr. Smits an e-mail to ask for a list of dealers. Hope there's one within reach...

Mr. Smits just replied... saying I should contact their US VP Sales! To inform if I can demo these Dutch speakers in Belgium!! Doesn't look promising but we'll see.

 

[bobrapoport]

Hello to all our old fans from the Final days, thanks for your interest and comments about the new Essence. Rather than say Final is back, it might be better to say Final has evolved to become the new Essence. Maarten Smits founded Final in th early 90's, achieved some success in the early 00's, but ended up losing control of the company to some predatory investors, not an uncommon story in the audio industry.

Now Maarten is back, his new design is the 4th generation of his work. He's solved the problem of how to get good bass from an electrostat that doesnt cost a fortune or take up th whole room, keeping the same classic industrial design with some enhancements. The stators are now acrylic, offered in several colors. These are wider than the last generation but that alone cannot account for the bass output down to 48 Hz. Although not visible, the spacers are wider in the bass section, increasing the excursion by 50%, a clever way to solve an old problem. No sub is required above 50 Hz, that would only disrupt the equisite detail and imaging in the stats range. We recommend an electronic x-over and a good small sub for the last octave of bass should it be required.

I am the sales director and general contact, Maarten has his hands full on the manufacturing now, shipping begins in the next few weeks and you can reach me directly at bob@essenceelectrostatic.com if you have further questions. They are beautiful and the sound is nothing short of amazing, but I am biased so take that with a grain of salt.

Ciao, Bob

 

[bobrapoport]

Sorry Doc, Maarten is not the best contact for your questions and he's up to his eyeballs in manufacturing issues so his mind is occupied at the moment, please dont take it personally.

I did the sales and marketing for Maarten between 2001-2004 and I am back to do it again. Yes I am based in St. Petersburg, FL. please dont hold that against me. I am happy to answer your questions, we are just getting started. You can reach me directly at bob@essenceelectrostatic.com Thanks.

Yes, the line is forming for Belgian demos of this fine Dutch product. Do you have a favorite dealer where you want to get a demo? Thats a good place to start the conversation.

Ciao,Bob