@kw6 , The modern one way SoundLabs are a way different beast from what you have mentioned. They are more efficient, will go very loud, are virtually impossible to break and have a near perfect dispersion pattern minimizing room interaction. Read the reviews. I just wish it was easier for people to hear them. As far as detail, transient response and distortion levels are concerned they are far beyond any dynamic speaker system.
richop, I really like Magnepans and have set up many of them up for other people. I owned Tympanys for two years but IMHO anything smaller than the 3.7i is not worth listening to and none of them come remotely close to a full range ESL. The best ESLs are not anything. They are not bright or dull or fatiguing. They are whatever you hook up to them. Driven by appropriate equipment ESLs are magic. Magnepans are great speakers, better than many if not most dynamic speakers. They punch way above their price point but they are not even remotely close to the best full range , line source ESL. I should say that the tweeter in the 20.7 is the best tweeter made. It just plain sparkles.
