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Herr Jesberger confirmed that the impedance of the N°1 does tank which has led to plans for new transformers which will limit torture excursions to above 3 ohms. He has good results with valves but I had nothing suitable on hand to test this counterintuitive reco. Ditto for high-feedback transistors. Since Electrocompaniet’s house motto is low feedback it probably wasn’t the most brilliant idea to leash up their AW180 monos. While Denon’s PMA2010AE integrated went a bit farther, it wasn’t decisive. The main culprit to my mind wasn’t the amp but room. The N°1 was developed to energize spaces up to 20 maximally 25m², i.e. normal rooms with standard ceilings. My room in an old brownstone is 30m² with high ceilings. You bet it makes a diff whether a speaker sees 50-60 cubic meters of air or 100. The moral of this story? If you regularly mean to exceed 85-90dB at the ear, keep in mind the ratio of room to panel size.

Which was quite loud already. Back then to elevated room levels and bass. On the subject of which I’ve essentially spilled the beans already. Quality was a very advanced menu, quantity a more customary portion. But there was another thing I noted with bass drums and double basses but not solely in the low registers – the virtual stage felt quite large, casting was well liberated and individual voices and instruments weren’t malnourished but rather quite opulent. Image outlines meanwhile weren’t particularly sharply drawn. Those who find that artificially hifi-ish in the first place will delight. Those who dig on a highly sculpted holographic soundstage will find it a tad diffuse. Taste and all. I could do with either but also with somewhat deeper layering. Let’s remember though that we’re dealing with a sizeable dipole. This involves more ambient field reflections than a nearfield monitor. It should be different. And panel friends know and admire this.

Conclusion. The Silberstatic N°1 are speakers which fascinated with a very high level of resolution and microdynamic differentiation but convinced particularly with their grand coherence. They carry the ‘fullrange electrostat’ sticker with honors even if the very lowest bass isn’t covered and others can pressurize harder. The audible bandwidth is served up in one piece. Nothing sticks out or avoids being seen. The no-filter wideband concept seems real. Even ‘speed’ as audible impulse behavior is fully congruent top to bottom which is particularly noteworthy in how well the bass integrates. One rarely hears this level of perfection. Congrats!

My sole proviso is SPL stability. Not. That’s clearly room-contingent and my 30m² vintage room was apparently too large for ‘real loud’. But even in smaller spaces I’d not attempt raves. That said, the overlap between panel fans and level freaks should be quite limited.

Psych profile
  • Very balanced even overall tonality. The extremes are so well integrated as to be perceived like a single entity without any transitions.
  • Respectable bass extension for the money, for an electrostat sans sub even more so. While more pressurization remains available elsewhere, the Silberstatic requires no higher levels to feel complete. Bass quality is immediate, very quick and elastic. Perfect integration.
  • The midband lacks any and all tendencies—it's neither warm nor cool—and is ultra transparent. Resolving power impresses particularly since one feels simply and self-assuredly ‘there’ without any effort. Top marks. Ditto for the treble.
  • First-rate timing and microdynamic reflexes, instantaneous impulse behavior across the audible bandwidth.
  • Spatially free, open and airy but in matters of depth layering and image outlines not ultimate. A large dipole radiates differently from the grand majority of multi-way boxes. To that one must adapt.
  • Not suitable for disco and macrodynamically limited.
Facts:
  • Concept: Passive electrostatic wideband dipole
  • Dimensions and weight: 158.5 x 52.2 x 5/35cm (HxWxD, without/with footer), 24.5kg/ea.
  • Trim: Stainless frame, grill cloth in black, crème white or Bordeaux red
  • Sensitivity: 81dB/2.83 Volt/1 m
  • Nominal impedance: 4Ω
  • Warranty: 5 years
  • Website
redaktion @ fairaudio.de