tube amps and electrostatics

I am over 50, and I know my ears like most older ears do not even hear much above 12khz or so like they used to when I was a young audio "stud".

So getting flat response that works becomes a lot easier with age. Roll off of highs with ES speakers may in fact be a non-issue for most of us old audio farts. WHose to say a lot of younger ears that listen to the same are sensitive enough for it to matter either.

Mapman, I'm not sure I get the gist of your point in relationship to the chart.

The ear sensitivity chart shows why what measures as flat
response is not heard as flat response normally, It
illustrates why what measures as flat frequency response
may be perceived as bright.

A lot of mass produced SS gear feature things like filters,
loudness controls, and other tonal adjustments that don't
really work that well as a means of addressing this. Tube
amps in some cases may be better suited by their nature to
help compensate for how our ears hear.

Atmasphere always talks about how most amps do not address
how our ears actually work, which is a valid point. He
tends to focus on brightness from odd order harmonics due to
NF in particular, but I guess I'm suggesting there is more
to it perhaps than just that.

Mapman, I would suggest to you that that reflects how the our hearing responds to a flat frequency response. The flat frequency response is a base line. Deviate from the baseline and our hearing would deviate accordingly.

Autoformers cost more than many speakers themselves. That's a factor to consider in the equation that can't be ignored.

Have you checked the price on Zero autoformers? Even in the finished boxes I cannot see how your assertion could possibly be true.