Hello Magoo,
How about a trip to New Orleans? We have several dealers here carrying such brands as JM Labs, Wilson Audio, and Vandersteen. I'm also a dealer for the JC-1's, and could give you an audition of Sound Lab full-range electrostats driven by JC-1's. I'd offer you a free place to stay regardless of where you shop, and if you ended up purchasing Sound Labs (I know they're not on your list, but hey a dealer can dream, can't he??), then I'll re-imburse your airfare. I'll offer you transporation as well, and would be more than happy to take you to the other shops I mentioned (there are several other fine brands carried here that aren't on your list).
Worst-case scenario would be your trip to New Orleans doesn't result in your discovering the ideal speaker, but at least you narrow down your list while enjoying some great food and live music without having a killer hotel bill, and you meet a few fellow crazies along the way.
Seriously, check out ticket prices at Travelocity.com or wherever. Shoot me an e-mail for details of my accomodations and such.
And whether or not New Orleans makes sense to you as a place to visit (there are bigger, better-stocked cities), I'd suggest investing a portion of your budget into making the necessary pilgrimages. Say you travel a couple of weekends and spend a grand doing so. My argument would be that fourteen grand well spent will probably take you farther than fifteen grand spent on an educated guess.
Best of luck to you on your quest, wherever it might lead you!
Duke
How about a trip to New Orleans? We have several dealers here carrying such brands as JM Labs, Wilson Audio, and Vandersteen. I'm also a dealer for the JC-1's, and could give you an audition of Sound Lab full-range electrostats driven by JC-1's. I'd offer you a free place to stay regardless of where you shop, and if you ended up purchasing Sound Labs (I know they're not on your list, but hey a dealer can dream, can't he??), then I'll re-imburse your airfare. I'll offer you transporation as well, and would be more than happy to take you to the other shops I mentioned (there are several other fine brands carried here that aren't on your list).
Worst-case scenario would be your trip to New Orleans doesn't result in your discovering the ideal speaker, but at least you narrow down your list while enjoying some great food and live music without having a killer hotel bill, and you meet a few fellow crazies along the way.
Seriously, check out ticket prices at Travelocity.com or wherever. Shoot me an e-mail for details of my accomodations and such.
And whether or not New Orleans makes sense to you as a place to visit (there are bigger, better-stocked cities), I'd suggest investing a portion of your budget into making the necessary pilgrimages. Say you travel a couple of weekends and spend a grand doing so. My argument would be that fourteen grand well spent will probably take you farther than fifteen grand spent on an educated guess.
Best of luck to you on your quest, wherever it might lead you!
Duke