Salk HT3, SF Cremona M, Magnepan 3.7 or ML Ethos?

I've done some searching and apparently "pistonic" is a made-up word in the audio world, and the original use was when multiple coils and magnets are used to drive the diaphragm more evenly, like those rectangular and odd-shaped speaker drivers of the '70s (many by Yamaha).

What I really meant was what we're used to hearing from some metal domed tweeters, which invariably have a resonant frequency spike (just about the range of hearing) and what's called "oil canning" which is also a distortion characteristic of overdriven metal domes.

My main point is that the accordion pleat compression drive of the Heil-type motion transformer, with its larger radiating surface and minimal motion, doesn't exhibit the harshness characteristic of many metal domes, and therefore might sound rolled off when it is actually delivering accurate treble without accompanying mechanical distortions we're used to hearing.

@Johnnyb53 The RAAL ribbon in the HT3 showed plenty of air without calling attention to itself, the ribbon in the Triton1 didn't give me anywhere near the same effect. But who knows if I was hearing the Triton's at their best or not...

I don't know if this was a factor in your audition, but the GoldenEar tweeter has very limited vertical dispersion and needs to be at ear level to show its stuff. Here are the measurements from Stereophile's Triton 1 review. You'll see that the tweeter response is very flat up to around 9Khz, and then actually rises a few dB for the next octave. However, However, the dispersion graphs show a sharp dropoff above and below the tweeter level.

Thanks Johnny, it is not possible that I was above axis but recalling the setup it is likely I was below axis and so that could explain at least part of the lack of tweeter response that I experienced. Irregardless, I have little doubt that they are not what I am looking for.

I had the chance to hear the Aerial Acoustics 6T and 7T and Vandy 2ceSig2 today. I heard the 6T with a PrimaLuna tube amp, the 7T with McIntosh SS gear and the Vandy also with a Prima Luna tube amp. The 6T was not so impressive to me so I won't say much more. The 7T is very good, refined, smooth, detailed, wonderful sound staging, delicate, proper image placement in height as well as width and depth, I was impressed. The tonality is very good but ultimately a bit on the dry or "boring" side for me, so while I could appreciate all the excellent things this speaker does it somehow did not excite me in the way that the 1038BE did (which had a more vibrant tonality and also seemed better with dynamics). I have to add some disclaimers. First, I heard the 7T in a properly set up room just for those speakers, whereas I heard the 1038BE on the left side of a room where the right side was storing ~20 pairs of speakers, i.e. not a well dialed in room. So, while I would say the imaging/soundstaging of the 7T was better than the 1038BE, this may have been due to the room. Both of these speakers are 10K/pair, if I was going consider one I would definitely want to hear the 1038BE's as well setup as the 7T's. Second, the music selection where I heard the 7T was not as vast as where I heard the 1038BE's and in particular I wasn't able to play songs I know very well, so my ability to completely interpret the differences between these two speakers is limited.

So, what about the Vandy? Wow, what a surprise that was. Thank you, zd542, for the suggestion even if I was quick to initially pass on it. The tonality of the Vandy was more beautiful (for me - i.e. closer to the 1038BE's tonality) than the 7T's to me, they soundstaged and imaged very well, not as well as the 7T's of course (especially in height) but still very well, and they were detailed (nearly at the same level as these other models but not at the same level of refinement) and were dynamic, and overall just a fun and easy speaker to listen to and like. The Vandy's are good at pretty much everything, they are just not at the level of these 10K speakers, but good enough that I would not be too disappointed pocketing the 7.5K difference for other things :)

Tomorrow I will hear a used pair of 3A signatures and be able to play my music, so hopefully I will be able to confirm this unexpected surprise (although I do not know what version of the 3A sigs these are - the 2ceSigs I heard were the latest edition).

I thought I should update this thread. I ended up buying demo 3A signatures. They are the previous version of midrange/tweeter drivers, but nonetheless I'm loving these speakers and the paring with my system is great!

I will post more details after some weeks, but one thing I would say I learned from my journey is that a properly setup room makes such a big difference that I absolutely cannot believe some of these dealers trying to sell 10K speakers without a properly setup demo room. That's inexcusable. I realize it's a hard business, but why make it harder on yourself?

Now back to enjoying some sweet sounds... :-)