I spoke to a tech support at ML a few months ago regarding this same issue. He told me that there is a "life expectancy" for their ESL panels that range from 8-10 years depending on usage. After that, the above mentioned simptoms are normal. I own a pair of Sequel IIs and the cost of the panel replacements are $549 +SH. This comes with a ML 3 or 5 year warranty. The replacing procedure is pretty simple and your speakers will sound as wonderful as the first day you brought them home. My panels have not reached that point yet, but may soon. Till then, I came up with a smaller and cheaper (less that $10) but not the most "correct way" of reducing the bass due to room geometry. My Preamp does not have any bass or treble controls, so an inline resistor did the trick for me. I can give you more details about that if you're interested. Best of luck and happy listening.
Shahen
Shahen