Guys my wife calls me a black hole because I still have all the stereo systems I ever owned going back to the 70s. Nothing ever leaves.
I still like and appreciate the new stuff but discontinued my stereophile subscription years ago once I realized that I had been misled in regards to horns and other gear yet "tuning" ebony dots sitting on top of equipment were the rage at $100 a pop!!!. Mostly do DIY stuff now. Most of the old stuff is junk or collectible but some is truly outstanding...you probably know which is which. It just so happen that my system kicks butt and only cost $1K. The point is quality is not always related to price especially when dealing with used gear.
Yes you can get excellent dynamics like the Grand Slams via brute force amplification but most large SS amps could be better. I prefer to stay with hi efficiency speaker designs and use simple tube high quality amps.
Subwoofers for 105 dB/W sensitive speakers are always a problem. Have 2 JBL 2445s and will eventually set up as suggested for PA use but have heard them before... typical boomy thumping bass secondary to vented enclosure. The EV 30W is good but don't like the large enclosure. Can do better with multiple woofers in a manifold projecting into the sound room with rear wave going into the attic. These are infinite baffle subwoofers. Check out the "Cult of the infinitively baffled" site for the best in subwoofers. These subwoof drivers are a different design compared to hi efficiency drivers used above. They are designed to tolerate hi power have heavy voice coils and literally inches of cone movement to move the air required for for deep bass. Sub woof bass output is in the watts of power so hi power SS amps with hi damping factors rule. I will probably be using two manifolds of four 15"drivers each with two BGW 750 amps.
Altec hi efficiency stuff is not perfect but it provides me with a better foundation to work with than anything else I have tried. But I still like the ribbons even if they require biamp or triamp with SS amps. The electrostatics lack ultimate bass and highs are wimpy adynamic but have high resolution. What else is there?? Another magical box full of cone drivers recommended by the mags because they pay for a lot of advertisement....I seen this for over 30 years.....get real!!!