Which Speaker in the 4-6K Range?

Dekay, your comparison with Quads and Maggies is interesting. How did the Sonatas sound in terms of transparency, imaging and soundstage? I admit that I'm hooked on transparency and detail but my electrostatics compromise the low end, which bothers me once in a while.

Thanks, Dekay. I'm going to check these out for future reference. I've got my CLS's in a good place right now (both physical position and upstream equipment) but am pterry sure that I'm going to give in to a real full range speaker someday. I just don't want to lose what I get from my esl's to get low end extension. Right now the big SoundLabs are at the top of my short list but I'm starting to open up to the possibility of dynamic speakers. I've heard a few that I can live with but none have had the detail, transparency and openess that I've experienced with ribbons and, especially esl's. Thanks again.

Hi Pops, Haven't heard the Ascents yet, but they are heavily based on Prodigy design. I stay in touch with the guys at Martin Logan and even they debate whether this is better than the SL3. Comes down to personal taste, like most things. Dealers I've spoken to (in the LA area) all seem to say that it's a better speaker. It depends on what your huckleberry is. If you like ML hybrids I would have to make an educated guess that this is a good sounding speaker. Dealers claim that the crossover between the panel and woofer is better extecuted. I like the SL3's OK (as the hybrids go) and don't think that the Acsent is a huge difference. I did have an overzelous dealer tell me that it was "80% of the Prodigy". Hardly likely, I think. But worth a listen -- I'm going to check it out soon just to keep up with what ML is doing firsthand.