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I don't know what you have. If you deem your panels unusable as-is, then there is not much to lose by dis-assembling one to find out what it needs for restoration. No one can advise you on that... it's your call. On the Theater panel, the stators were bonded together around the entire...

Hi Mark, I've built quite a few flat-panel ESLs but my experience with curved panels is limited to the one Theater panel I recently refurbished, so keep that in mind when considering any advice from me. If the panel still plays, but it's volume decreased slowly over time, you can rule out...

Yes, the owner removed the Theater panel from its speaker and shipped it to me for a rebuild, which is documented on my website here: https://jazzman-esl-page.blogspot.com/2011/11/compensating-diplole-phase-cancellation.html That was my only experience with an ML panel. I've never removed one...

On the Theater panel I recently refurbished, I noted that the diaphragm coating was omitted over the spars, and about 3/16" on either side. Those areas had been masked off before the coating was applied. I think the reason ML did this was to prevent charge from migrating to the spars and...

I almost hate to bring this up because I'm not certain it's do-able in every case, but... here goes: The periphery spacer tapes are the predominant expense in rebuilding a panel ($348). That is; if you replace them. On the Theater panel I recently refurbished, I was able to separate the...

I had hoped that posting the the Theater panel rebuild procedure would encourage others to refurbish their old panels. Some probably will, but most aren't handy with tools and wouldn't be equipped to build a jig for tensioning the diaphragm. In addition, rebuilding a panel isn't cheap...

The ESL's Achilles heel is its diaphragm coating losing conductivity over time. My personal belief is that the coating is being slowly cooked off the diaphragm anytime the speaker is playing, and if so, a panel that doesn't get played much should last longer than one that gets played more...

I don't know what the coating is. I can tell you that the 20-yr old Theater panel I just rebuild had a glossy coating on it that probably would not be affected by a mild detergent. I don't know what ML uses on newer panels.

Sodium laurel sulfate is a surfactant but it's so ubiquitous I can't imagine it would be hidden under a proprietary cloak if it were in there. If I think about it when I'm grocery shopping tomorrow, I'll pick up a bottle of that Simple Green and test it with my "poor man's meager to see if it...

DO NOT use soap! FYI: Most liquid hand soaps, and practically all brands of dish washing liquid contain sodium laurel sulfate, which is CONDUCTIVE, and would create shorting paths out the wazoo. You might get away with it if you rinsed it off thoroughly but it's a risk I wouldn't take...

This reminds me of a passive gizmo someone brought to the CarverFest audio retreat last year, that was pitched to produce a sweet spot between the speakers. The gizmo was a solid brass parabolic dish about 20 inches in diameter. It was quite heavy, and its thickness stepped down in concentric...

If I had an aged panel that was still working and played at a reasonable volume, I would probably just leave it alone. There is a risk of bending a stator when prying them apart (not necessarily the kiss of death but you don't want it to happen). Assume you would have to replace everything...

More about the diaphragm stretching jig: It took less than a day to draw up and build my 2-frame diaphragm install jig. I won't call it a stretching jig because the stretching is actually done by hand. The jig just supports the stator and provides curved surfaces to stretch the film over...

In case anyone needs to do a printout; here's a PDF:

Good idea Johnathan, Here's a PDF:

$600-$800 is a good price for the Sunfire 300x2. Those amps have headroom to burn and no problem driving the ESLs. I've run my 6-channel homebuilt ESLs with a Sunfire 400 x 7 and barely had to crack the throttle.

Hey thanks! I actually do teach... tai chi in the park

My point was that the original coating is too conductive for the panel to operate in the more ideal constant-charge mode. Moreover, my measurements showed a large variation in surface conductance across the diaphragm (ranging from zero conductance to 3X more than needed). I don't know what...

Update on the rebuild: I noted in my write-up that the diaphragm coating did not extend over the spars, as it was visually evident that the area over the spars, and about 3/16" on either side of the spars, had been masked-off before the coating was applied. I figured ML had a reason for...

I've posted as a link to my blog page and that seems to be working OK, so I'll leave it alone.