Planars/ Electrostats benefits over box speakers?

Bcgator, I believe that you are correct in describing what many companies try to do, by designing inert cabinets that allow the drivers to work most efficiently without adding cabinet induced coloration. However many companies discover in attempting this that in reality all cabinets have some inherent sound which impacts the speaker's performance. So what some then do is design a cabinet more like a musical instrument, which is tuned so that its resonance is musically coherent rather than of an objectionable nature. There is more than one way to design and engineer a fine speaker, and it often comes down to subjective as well as objective performance goals.

I recently auditioned Sphinx at my local dealer running magnepans. It was a very good match seemingly. The amp had no problem driving them to reasonably high volume. The room was moderately large.

I'm considering Sphinx for use with my smaller ohms which I have ab compared to magnepans at home in the past and think that to be an even better match with more muscle overall.

Can't comment on Martin Logan. Not much experience there.

I understand what you're saying Bill, I think Sonus Faber, just for one example, has that philosophy that the cabinet isn't just a holder for the drivers but an organic functioning part of what creates their sound signature. Thanks for the response.

Just thought. Line sources are more efficient as distance, dropping -3db at double distance rather than -6db for point source speakers. The guy/girl in the back row can enjoy.

"Or am I barking up the wrong tree?"

Some designers also attend to the cabinet shape to reduce diffraction (I used the wrong term last post).

You have excellent taste. You are on the right track. Check out the magnapan 1.7 for under $2000.00. It is about 5feet tall but has a small footprint of approximately 17" x 2". The sound benefits are real. You cannot get better sound for the money. They sound more like real music than other speakers at this price point. To get the most from these speakers you need to place them in a suitable room. You are need a good amplifier. Good here does not mean expensive. (Eg: Odyssey Khartago extreme for about $1250) Contact the company to find out if the dimensions of your your room is suitable for these speakers. Good luck