I think your comments are off to the right start. Also, I think the suggestion of spending some time on your own making a list is a good one. First, no speaker does it ALL right--at least I haven't heard one yet. Some speakers sound great with this type of music--others with that. These would be some general observations (these are not 100% true of every speaker in every category--and these are of course my own personal observations--observations may vary by listener):
1. Horns
pros: efficient, dynamic, sounds great with a 3 watt Triode SE, placement is easy
cons: do not image will, can detect speakers (they do not disappear very well)
2. Conventional Box / Dynamic (huge group and varies)
pros: dynamic, can be efficient--but often isn't, can have a great sound stage but sometimes doesn't.
cons: not as efficent as horns, not as good imaging as planers
3. Ribbon and planer
pros: still very dynamic, blends better with woofer than most ESL panels, excellent imaging,
cons: not terribly efficient (though some are),
4. ESL
pros: great midrange and vocals and clarity, imaging is amoung the best
cons: not efficient, lacking bass (unless coupled with a woofer/hybrid design), not as dynamic, difficult to place and VERY room dependent.
Hope that helps some, but keep in mind the dynamic bracket is SO broad that it almost spans the whole spectrum. If you picked out 3 speakers that were approximately equal in price and listened for a while my guess is these generalizations would hold fairly true, but they are just generalizations and when buying you really need to narrow down the specific aspects that are important to you as a listener. For me, it's the imaging and midrange clarity and thus I own electrostatics--this is where they really excel. As it turns out my female vocal recording purchases have increased dramatically--not an unusual phenomenon. You tend to purchase what sounds best on your system--and buy the system that plays the kind of music you like. I guess what I'm saying is don't be WOWed by the speaker that plays great female vocals, if you don't like female vocals. Be WOWed by what plays what you like to listen to.
1. Horns
pros: efficient, dynamic, sounds great with a 3 watt Triode SE, placement is easy
cons: do not image will, can detect speakers (they do not disappear very well)
2. Conventional Box / Dynamic (huge group and varies)
pros: dynamic, can be efficient--but often isn't, can have a great sound stage but sometimes doesn't.
cons: not as efficent as horns, not as good imaging as planers
3. Ribbon and planer
pros: still very dynamic, blends better with woofer than most ESL panels, excellent imaging,
cons: not terribly efficient (though some are),
4. ESL
pros: great midrange and vocals and clarity, imaging is amoung the best
cons: not efficient, lacking bass (unless coupled with a woofer/hybrid design), not as dynamic, difficult to place and VERY room dependent.
Hope that helps some, but keep in mind the dynamic bracket is SO broad that it almost spans the whole spectrum. If you picked out 3 speakers that were approximately equal in price and listened for a while my guess is these generalizations would hold fairly true, but they are just generalizations and when buying you really need to narrow down the specific aspects that are important to you as a listener. For me, it's the imaging and midrange clarity and thus I own electrostatics--this is where they really excel. As it turns out my female vocal recording purchases have increased dramatically--not an unusual phenomenon. You tend to purchase what sounds best on your system--and buy the system that plays the kind of music you like. I guess what I'm saying is don't be WOWed by the speaker that plays great female vocals, if you don't like female vocals. Be WOWed by what plays what you like to listen to.