The top cone speakers today happen to be Spendor, Harbeth, ATC, PMC, Living Voice, Goldmund, Eggleston, JM Reynaud, JM Labs and yes it would include Avalon, Kharma, Vandersteen, Von Scheikwert, TAD, Thiel, Proac.
I don't think it's silly to compare the S8e to MG12 as they have similar bandwith and price is very arbitrary in this hobby. I have heard the MG1.6 and 3.6 at the dealers and still prefer the Spendor. I would even compare th S8e to the highly rave Kharma 3.2 FE $20,000 an heard the Dynaudio Evidence Master $80,0000 and still prefer the S8e in communicating the music with natural timbres/texture. Sure the Dynaudios play louder and have more bass but you can't replicate the live sound of an intrument by making a speaker with just more drivers and bigger cabinet no matter how high quality the parts are. Bigger speakers bigger distortion and you need more amplifer power to drive those speakers again more distortion. That's why when you hear the big Dynaudio play a simple event like a drum stick hitting a wooden block tey do the dynamics but you can't hear the wood/texture just some synthetic sound. The only speaker technology which comes closest to replicating live music would probably be a custom 3-way horn system. Commercial designs would be Avantgarde (bass integration is terrible) or Acapella. A funny story, a friend of mine whose colleague has a daughter (13 yrs old) who plays cello was looking to buy speakers so she can hear her own music. She heard Quads, Martin Logans, Vandersteen, etc. Do you know she said sounds closest to her instrument. She said a vintage pair of Klipsch Cornwall I which she got and driving it with Quickie Triodes. And yes, vintage Klipsch speakers like La Scala are still viable today.
I've heard Maggies with tubes and SS.I agree that when juiced up the Maggies come alive dynamically but the inner detail is just not there. And I feel nothing is lost going to a fine cone/horn speaker.
I have not heard the Soundlab A1s so I can't comment but did hear the hybrid, I believe, the Dynastat many years ago. Still couldn't resolve the sound of the hall but leading edge on guitars were convincing as wth most electrostats.
And I would disagree that the A1 is in a whole diffirent sonic league than the S8e but Soundlabs would be better than the Maggies. The friend I talked about did hear the bigger full range Soundlabs and he still prefers his Quad 988 saying more musically balanced across the spectrum. Soundlabs will play louder and have more bandwith but what would you rather have one cup of gourmet java or 10 cups of coffee from Dennys. He says they are way overpriced and has known people who owned Soudlabs and have had their panels go down. But he says that about his Quads too (nature of the technology I guess) and that's why he still appreciates what his vintage modded La Scalas can do. When he sits down to listen he doesn't have to worry, is this the day the speaker will shut down. He does like the Quads though that's why he has one pair for back up. Also he has been playing piano since the age of 5 and plays most keyboard instruments even to this day and has helped his friends record music. He is still fond of going to his friends house tinkling the keys of the big Boesendorfer.
Good Luck!*>)
