I'm new here, but not new to audio.
Back in 1985 I had the Acoustat 3 , later with the medallion mod,driven by Conrad Johnson Premier two pre and Conrad J MV75A-1, Oracle Delphi Mk11 table, FR arm and Cart and a Janus Sub.
Later I had a Moscode amp but ran the system as normal, no mods.
Then I went thru numerous cones and amps, tubed and solid state.
Went thru ML Sequel, two pair of CLS 11Z, Quad 63, and stacked Quad 57.
Then Tannoy Ardens, Ref Grand Veena, and now back again to Acoustat-but this time the 3 panel X with modified servo amps.
Many years ago many of my friends told me to go with the older Acoustats with the servo amps.
One friend has the same pair he bought back in 1974,but has had work done on the amps.
Having had a long history with stats and with Acoustats with the transformers driven by tubes and solid state,I have to be honest and agree that until you have heard them driven with an upgraded Servo amp,you really don't know how good those old panels really are.
And like most everything, you need to feed those speakers with good electricity,upgrade the fuses and use top end power cords.
I have 3 dedicated 20 amp lines, one for the speakers.
The servo amps have been modded and some parts like the IEC replaced with top Furutech products.
Power cords are Shunyata Annacondas,fuses are HiFi tuning Supremes.
So a few thousand dollars worth of upgrading,but worth every penny.
These speakers aren't like the mostly stock ones my friends have.
Much more open, dynamic and fast, with no bass bloat or blurr.
I'm not bragging that what I own are the best speakers,becuase I have a friend with the Sound Lab Ul-1 and another with Sonus Strad in a very elaborated set up,but for what I have invested in the Acoustats, I'm not disappointed with what I have.
I used to lust after the RAM el34 tube amp, but never bought one,back when a local dealer stocked the line.
I would love to try the OTL from RAM.
The old Acoustat panels are very good at showing the differences you make throughout the system.
Power cords are a no brainer, the better you use, the better the sound.
I would think that a nice project would be some Acoustat panels and that OTL RAM amp.
At the moment I run a SME 10 table, SME V arm, Clearaudio Talisman V2 gold, Nordost Frey V2 tonearm cable,Manley Steelhead,out thru DIY run of Furutech interconnect and the top Furutech RCA into Furutech RCA inputs at the amps.The analog gear is plugged into a Shunyata Hydra 8 on a dedicated 20 amp line.
Digital is a Esoteric E03 cd/sacd player , 1 mtr. DIY Furutech interconnect(same components as the analog long run), on the third dedicated 20 amp line ,volume is controlled by a Lightspeed Attenuator.
I should also note that I have been a musician for the last 50 years,1963 Fender bass,Mark 11 head, 1x 15 and 1 x12 cabinets.
My pursuit in audio has always been to try and get the same sound at home as I do on stage.
I know that's not possible, but it's been fun trying.