I made the jump to horns about 7 or so years ago, after 3 decades of electrostats. Great dynamics, and 'jump' (as mentioned) with the same level of openness and transparency as the stats. Getting the associated equipment right was key to making them work, partly because of the noise level of some of the components I used with less efficient speakers, and partly due to gear synergies. With the Lamm ML2, my Avantgardes really started to make music. Improving/changing gear further upstream also seemed to improve the integration between the horn mid and dynamic self-powered woofers, which was originally one of the shortcomings, at least in my set-up.(I would love to have a full-on horn system, with horn woofers.) One of the things I like about the Avantgarde is that is no crossover between the amp and the midrange horn.
With everything 'just so' the performers are much more 'in the room' and the issue of 'imaging' or 'soundstage' is less of a factor, so this is a huge plus, overall; system or AC noise and sorting out associated equipment, at least for my rig, was the negative, as was integration between bass and mids, but I've managed to get the system to a level that is now extremely enjoyable, very vivid, tonally rich and not strident. Of course, part of that also depends on the source material, but as the system has improved, I'm able to enjoy a wider range of material- some of it isn't 'demo' quality, but I'm far more engaged in the music, which is what it is ultimately about.
PS I still have all my old electrostats, ribbon tweets, and other vintage stuff, and will probably get all that restored at some point for a vintage system or two.
PPS I've heard people snark about how nasty horns can sound, and they can, if not set up right and used with the gear that brings out their best.
