Introduced as the successor to the famed CLS (or CLZ), the CLX strikes me more like an altogether different speaker. It's quite a bit wider than the old CLS, but it's not as big as I thought it would be based on pictures I've seen. It follows the curvilinear driver design of the original CLS, the consequent wider dispersion creating a wider sweet spot.
The CLX certainly delivers on the promise of being more than a one-listener-in-the-sweet-spot speaker, but what but what really blew me away were the dynamics. Aided and abetted by a pair of Descent 1 subwoofers ($3000 each), the rest of the system made up of Bryston components (BCD-1 CD player, BD-A1 DAC, BP26 preamp, 28B SST2 power amps), this system kicked ass in a way that was difficult to credit to electrostatics. I suspect the Bryston amps (1000W!) were a major contributor here. I understand that, in typical electrostatic fashion, the impedance of the CLX goes very low in the treble, a characteristics that many amps have trouble dealing with—but not the Brystons. The sound was loud and clear, with a tremendous "punch."
Criticisms? Well, I would expect a speaker that costs CN$22,000/pair (about to be increased to $25,000) to be full-range, or, if not full-range, the price should be lower to allow budgeting for a pair of subwoofers.
