ribbon or electrostatic speakers

Although Sound Labs aren't a benign load, they're nowhere near as tough as they used to be, thanks to the backplate update which became available early this year and which reduces the impedance dip in the midrange that some amplifiers have problems with. Great amplifiers for driving them can be found for under $6000. Scintillas, on the other hand, drop to somewhere in the range of 1 ohm and are about as tough a load as any speaker out there. Very few amplifiers can drive them well. They can be a bargain, but it's important to keep in mind the company is long gone and you may find yourself on your own to service them even though parts may be found occasionally.

Muralman1, no I don't have Advents but I do have Avantgarde Duo's and yes I did get a friend Scintillas. I really like the Scintillas but unlike my friend I worry about parts and worry more about who can repair them. Thanks!

Hififarm, does Piega have a website? Thanks!

Audiokinesis, always interested in new speakers. When you have more info ie; website, price, lit., etc. please email me. You stated you will be peddling the Gilmore Audio, are you a dealer? If so, where are you located? Have you heard these new speakers? If so, how do they compare with the Apogee Scintillas or Divas? Thanks!

Hands down the best bass I've heard from a panel speaker was from a pair of Sound Labs, followed closely by a pair of Apogee Divas. Admittedly, there was a + 6-9 DB peak centered around the 40 HZ region of the Soundlabs, but it was tight, tight, and did I say tight, which made the presentation quite visceral without mucking up the mid or upper bass. The Divas had noticably more grunt down under 30 HZ but lacked the sense of bass to midbass slam that the Soundlab's bump brought to the table. This made the Divas more menacing...in a good way though.

That being said, I've gotten truly excellent results using sealed subwoofers with system Q's ~.6. Normally, such a low Q would result in a rather lean and dry low end, but I just juice it up a bit (+4-6 DB)in the 20-40 HZ octave and actively cross it over to the bass panels of my Apogees at 70 hz (and yes, I do cut the lower octave out of the Apogee's bass panel). The result is, in a word, thrilling. In two words, "shock & awe".