Quote Originally Posted by Barry View Post
That used to be said about CD, that unlike vinyl playback there was no room for tweaks and tinkering. Then along came 'green pens'; CD damping discs and rings, etc.

Agree re. active speakers. Unfortunately my Quad 57s do not readily lend themselves to be adapted from passive X-overs. It would require the use of three audio transformers per speaker, capable of dealing with voltages as high as 2.5kV.
As you will no doubt be aware, probably the best hi fi possible would be to do away with the transformers and directly drive electrostatic speakers from amplifiers capable 2-5KV output! Ideal for a valve or hybrid amp as it removes both the output transformer in the valve amp and the input transformer in the esl speakers.. Audio Nirvana! It was done commercially in the late 70's in the form of the Acoustat X (claimed by some to be the best speaker ever made). I recently had a look at the circuit diagrams for the amps and they were really crude....
Big enough ESL's with the right driving amps can do all the max SPL and slam anyone could possibly need as well.
Cost of course is the problem.... Although there are of course speakers selling for £50,000+ so maybe not that much of a problem other than the cost of parts in the £50K speakers is probably only £2K whilst it would be more like £5-10K for the ultimate electrostatic..