Maintaining Electrostatic speakers

Fiftyfifty

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Hi,

Wonder what is the best way to keep electrostatic panels in good shape. The manufacturers' manuals suggest that you clean them with a dry cloth, but that's definitely not good enough in our humid and dusty cities.

I keep moisture absorbers (Absorbia) near the speakers. I don't use a room dehumidifier because of the hum (35db). Today I vacuumed the panels and then went at them with a hair drier. The result is quite a noticeable improvement in SQ.

Any suggestions on maintaining/ cleaning these panels would be useful and welcome.

Thanks
 
I'm not sure of the foreign ones but there is significant improvement in the ones manufactured by the one (only) based in India.

It would help if you could let us know the speaker make, model and year of manufacture.
 
I'm not sure of the foreign ones but there is significant improvement in the ones manufactured by the one (only) based in India.

It would help if you could let us know the speaker make, model and year of manufacture.

Thanks for responding!

I use Martin Logan ESL, but my question was more general, viz., what's the best way to clean and maintain any electrostatic panel over a period of time?

Thanks again
 
There's really nothing you can do. Does Martin-Logan claim that their panels are humidity resistant? If yes, then just pray that that is true. My Cadence Avitas are said to be just that, and I haven't had a problem in 15 years, despite the high humidity of Bombay. That said, it is a fact that Quad electrostats do have problems here.
 
There's really nothing you can do. Does Martin-Logan claim that their panels are humidity resistant? If yes, then just pray that that is true. My Cadence Avitas are said to be just that, and I haven't had a problem in 15 years, despite the high humidity of Bombay. That said, it is a fact that Quad electrostats do have problems here.

In Pune, the humidity is much lower. My question was, in general, how is one supposed to maintain the panels so that they perform at their peak? Vacuum? Dehumidifier? Hair drier? Just wipe with a cloth? And do you leave them on or off when not in use (I have heard contradictory views on this)? Some people even keep them covered in the sleeves provided, but I don't because I play them everyday.

Thanks!
 
I used to have Cadence Avita, sold last year (regret selling it now & miss the sound). I used to keep it covered with a cloth for protecting it from dust and for humidity I had kept pouch of silica packet near the panels.
 
In Pune, the humidity is much lower. My question was, in general, how is one supposed to maintain the panels so that they perform at their peak? Vacuum? Dehumidifier? Hair drier? Just wipe with a cloth? And do you leave them on or off when not in use (I have heard contradictory views on this)? Some people even keep them covered in the sleeves provided, but I don't because I play them everyday.

Thanks!

When not playing, I use an acrylic cover that sits over the Avita's 'stat unit, and rests on its bass module, as a safety device (intrusive fingers of children!) and to reduce the deposit of dust. Obviously that can't be replicated on Martin-Logans. I would strongly advise against use of vacuums, hair dryers, etc, as they might permanently damage the the (carefully calibrated) positioning of the central membrane and the two stators. Actually the Cadence units are much much more vulnerable, unlike M-Ls which have a perforated metal fascia. All I've ever done is to use a soft brush (the type used in make-up kits) every few weeks to very very gently remove dust off the panel, barely making contact with the stators. Would not recommend anything else. Those panels ( humidity related arcing problems aside) are stronger than we might imagine.

Also, I power them on only when in use. There could be a possibility (my guess actually) that the central membrane might lose some level of magnetisation if kept continuously powered on. In any case why waste electricity?
 
Thanks Eddie and Naturelover for the valuable tips.

I got in touch with Martin Logan and their recommendations are:

No problem using in tropical climate;
Vacuum clean 3-4 times a year, the membrane is strong enough. Can also use compressed air;
No need to power off as there is an auto shut off that comes into play when the music stops;
Humidity attracts dust and this combination can affect conductance of the panels.

So, for now, things seem under control.

Thanks again,
 
I had Cadence Aristas for a couple of years which I now regret selling. Their initial models had Aluminum foil panels which were prone from arcing in humid conditions. They later switched to panels with Iridium oxide coated PTFE membrane which are immune to arcing. However, to be on safe side, I used to pack one each of silica gel packets and cover them firstly with bubble wrap and then cloth cover. I never faced any problems in a humid place like Chennai.
 
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