Given the correct electronics and room setup, I think ESL's produce a more satisfying presentation of the music than a box loaded with dynamic drivers. The box induced coloration's, particularly in the midrange, bug the hell out of me. Every now and then I'll hear a box speaker that sounds pretty good. I suppose I'm fortunate as I have absolutely no desire to go back to building them or owning them in my main two channel system. The bass of an ESL, like the sound lab, takes a while to get use to. To my ears it does a far better job of reproducing orchestra and acoustic bass fundamentals than rock music. Rock music bass is usually produced with dynamic drivers so I think these drivers also tend to reproduce it better. One of the big problems of a box loaded woofer is dealing with box coloration and intermodulation distortion created by the back wave of the dynamic driver. I believe that a dynamic bass driver properly loaded in a transmission line enclosure best handles this phenomena. But an ESL doesn't have any of this to get in the way of the music and to my ears renders a harmonic truth that is simply alive! Regards; -Jerie
