Broadstone- I realized how seemingly inefficient my beloved electrostats were, and how high the threshold was for system noise, only after I switched to horns. I started back in the early 70's with a pair of old Quads (a/k/a '57's) and used them standing alone, then with various subwoofers and super tweets, including Deccas and Sequerra ribbons, before switching to a Crosby-modded '63 back in 1990. They served me very well until the mid-2000's. (I still have both pairs of Quads, and the Deccas, sorely in need of resto). When I switched to horns, my system was noisy as hell! All kinds of squirrely stuff, from noise on the line, to tube rush, to low level grounding anomalies. This isn't to dump on electrostats- to the contrary, still think the original Quad is the best mid-range reproducer in the biz, but what it taught me was that all the low level nuance (like the noise) was probably below the threshold of hearing on these things (and my ears were much younger then). Not suggesting you run out and buy horns, but I offer this only as another way to look at the same experience.
There is also something else- it seems that for every system, and every record, there is a 'right' volume that sounds natural. I rarely listen at really loud levels, but to realize what's on the record, I find that there is a spot that is just naturally right for that recording, and it varies.
There is also something else- it seems that for every system, and every record, there is a 'right' volume that sounds natural. I rarely listen at really loud levels, but to realize what's on the record, I find that there is a spot that is just naturally right for that recording, and it varies.