Electrostatic pros and cons.

@broockies:  Thanks for posting the relevant information about ROOMS.  As I keep posting on this forum, whatever you think you like may sound different in YOUR ROOM.  Take it home and listen and then buy.

Next, Levinson loved electrostatics in the '70s and made the HQD system, which we made some stands for:

https://www.google.com/search?q=levinson+hqd&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS826US826&tbm=isch&source=iu...

This was dual quads, a Decca Ribbon between them, and one or two Hartely 24" subwoofers.  It was driven, unfortunately, by a bunch of his stuff at the time, which was built like a tank but sounded pretty bad.

Next to a pair of Magnepan speakers, it was shrill, beamy, and took some effort to tone down the woofer(s).  It sounded nice, but electrostatics (back then, anyway) had a bunch of issues.  RTR had a line of them that we carried, and Bob Fulton used their biggest pair in his FMI "J" Modular system:

https://www.google.com/search?q=fulton+modular+j+system&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS826US826&tbm=isch&am...

A lot of work and time went into both of these designs--notice that they are all 6' tall--I wonder where they got that idea?  It could not have been from Magnepan, of course...but I digress.

The point is that two of the best in the day tried the electrostatics in systems that let them be featured.  Neither sounded all that good, even for the time.  Electrostatic speakers failed QUICKLY under mid-powered amps--a Phase Linear 700 would launch them to the moon, I suppose-- and they tend to be both shirll and beamy. 

If a new inventor has conquered these issues, I suggest you try them out in YOUR ROOM next to a pair of Magnepans of equal quality.  Then, buy the one YOU like.

Cheers!

Full range electrostatics are totally phase aligned, but not full range, because the upper frequencies are rolled off.  Of course, if you have a good jazz or classical FM station nearby, they work great, because FM signals are chopped from 15000 cps up.  Lots of power is neede for bass.  If you get an amp with a 2 ohm rating for power, it will easily drive 'stats. 

If you get an amp with a 2 ohm rating for power, it will easily drive 'stats.

That is a very broad and somewhat incorrect statement - depending on the ESL we are talking about (and I am talking about ESL, not ribbon or planar magnetic which are different animals and for which some people lump together with ESLs).

I'll agree on the full range comment - to an extent, but depending on the amplifier you may not need large amounts of power in the bass. Solid state amps, perhaps, some OTL designs, no. There are some other factors here that would determine the right amp as well that are being overlooked.

The RTR ESL tweeters used in the Fulton Model J discussed above by @richopp were the same tweeters ESS used in their TranStatic I and Infinity in their 2000A. Great tweeters, the 6-tweeter array-in-a-box Fulton used was marketed by RTR itself as the ESR-6. If you ever see a pair, snap 'em up! The J's midrange was covered by the Fulton Model 80, a real nice (transparent, uncolored) little 2-way. 

I have no names to drop or unique experiences from history, but do have a pair of Martin Logan Source (entry level) speakers running on a Denon AVR, and they are "magical" in the sweet spot (in my room and to my ears). No measurements required, the sound is beautiful.