Scratched a 35 year old itch...Monitor Audio R352.
I went to a hi-fi show in a concrete hotel, somewhere near Heathrow, in around 1985 (probably '84, given that I hadn't yet bought my Planar 3). At the show, I heard a few 'way out there' Absolute Sounds type electrostatics, plus a whole host of flat earth speakers. Almost at the end of the day I went into a nondescript room with middle of the road electronics (an A&R A60 rings a bell) and saw these '70s throwback' MA R352's. Real bass and believable tone...and, ironically, much better transients than the PRAT brigade. A bit rolled off, up top, but I could live with it.
My local flat earth dealership took me to the Rega and, shortly after, the LP12, and that needed speakers without bass, so I ended up with a pair of Kans and forgot all about the 352.
Anyhow, an apparently minty pair popped up locally (6 miles away) on ebay and a £72 bid secured. Tomasz isn't the biggest fan of the modded B&Ws, so he's already eyeing them for the workshop. If they're any good then I might bring them to the WAM show next month. They look promising - lightweight, high efficiency paper driver (that will explain the fast transients), reasonably simple crossover and benign impedance curve, extra internal bracing, 13kg a piece. Just read that they were designed by Robin Marshall.
How much fun can you have for £70? I'll let you know...