Single driver point source speakers vs. the world?


Okay, I've been a 'stat guy the majority of my audio life.

Recently I acquired a humble speaker that has me rethinking my entire approach to audio, i.e., big power amp requirements driving mass amounts of current to 'stats.

The speaker I'm referring to is the Cain & Cain Abby. 8 watts of 300b SET amplification into these speakers is as good as I've heard. No, they don't do bass but they excel at everything else. So the ? for those with point source design experience is does the lack of a crossover in designs equate to these types of results in other point source or single driver designs?
coltrane1
Been there and done that.
Went from ML CLS to Reference 3A De Cappo Is powered by OTLs and never looked back.
There is something to said for high efficiency single driver crossover-less or minimal crossover designs (tweeters added) being driven by SET or OTL amplifiers.
Now driving Avantgarde Duo Omegas with Atmasphere M60s.

Intuitively, this approach makes a lot of sense, and I am particuarly impressed that electrostatic fans have been converted.

I am interested in experimenting with a single driver, crossoverless speaker for a desktop system, where all day, every day use might make tubes impractical.

Could anyone therefore recommend a single driver speaker and chip amp or reasonably priced solid state amp as candidates for this application?
Cwlondon - I have a pair of JohnBlue JB3 speakers in a desktop system that I really love. They sound fantastic in a nearfield situation, are beautifully made and just the right size for a desktop.

In the winter I drive them with a small Jolida FX10 tube integrated and in the summer with a NuForce Icon. The sound with the tubes is considerably better but for the size and price the NuForce amp is impressive.
Time, phase correct, point source. Easy load for amplifier,lower power requirements are all benefits of fullrange drivers. There are many available but I feel the cheap ones only give a small taste of what a proper fullrange design can do. Weakness extremes of frequency. Only a few can produce bass below 40hz. Most have issues with treble reproduction but its slight and only compared to the better high frequency transducers. They also have limited SPL but this is not a issue in most systems. Best to look for 8in fullranges. These give the max performance per $ outlayed. Still the 6 1/2in fe166e like in most abbys is a fine affordable driver and will give a taste of whats possible if one more fully explores fullrange options. My son build the nagaoka design for fe166e a better cabinet for fe166e now en than abby. The plan ships with driver. Another option is madisound bk20 kit with fe206en or fe208esigma with t900a tweeter. A massive step up over abbys performance. To me the best performance for funds is SEAS exotic. In fullrange doesn't get much if any better than SEAS X=1 no mater what they charge.
There are two issues here that tend to get lumped together when they should be addressed separately. The first is the point source driver. The second is crossoverless designs. You can have the former without having the later. Tannoy, Thiel, Cabasse, Gradient, TAD and others have done point source drivers with crossovers. Typically a tweeter is placed in the center of a midrange or full range driver. These designs are noted for their coherence and the ability to soundstage/image. They are also not necessarily limited at the frequency extremes or suffer the volume limitations of single driver crossoverless designs. Designing a transparent passive crossover is a major technical, but at a practical level it is more achievable than a full range single driver crossoverless speaker.