To be fair, when I last heard Isobariks the front end was the regular LP12, ittok, asak Naim setup, but they were just too rich and lush and swimmy for me.  I felt seasick!  The electrostatics are not everyones taste, and I have recently been wondering about this obsession of mine to recreate the PT listening room of 1984 (as I now recognise thats what the obsession is), but there is something special about that "curtain of sound" just hanging there that you get from ESL's at their best which appeals.

I have tried to kick the habit recently with LS50's R900's and now the Lowther Fidelio's, and keep fingers and other bits crossed for the EX3 drivers doing the necessary, but I suspect the minute I plug the Ventricals back in (which I have resisted the temptation for the moment) I am going to love the "airy" detail I get back, more than I am going to rue the loss of warmth and natural mid of the Lowthers (they are good on sax!).  Certainly the Lowthers have caused me to pause, and recognise they have some qualities which are appealing, and which, if improved drivers could remove the worst of the defects might be appealing enough.  But it looks a steep hill to climb from here.

So looks like the easiest solution is to find a living room I can put stacked Quads in after all.  Or settle for the Ventricals as a bloody good domestically acceptable approximation.

We'll see