Thanks Martin – it would have taken me quite a while to confirm that information; now I have the confidence to go ahead and buy the speakers. Fortunately the model I used – Adam A3X – is still available second-hand at reasonable prices, though it has been superseded.
Regarding your PS: an unusual aspect of my system is the contribution made by a pair of Quad electrostatic speakers. The model I have – ESL57 – was made between 1956 and 1963, but Quad are still willing to repair any equipment made by the company, provided that parts are not impossibly difficult to obtain. Electrostatic speakers are known for their exceptionally low distortion, especially in the treble; so quite likely I’m obtaining as good a sound from them in my Version 4 system as users of later versions feeding more common magnetic speakers. A man well known as a broadcaster on BBC Radio 3 (he had better remain nameless) recently heard a friend’s modern Quad electrostatics, and was amazed. He said “It’s just like being there” – which is what most people say on hearing them for the first time. If a professional with that background had not realised just how good electrostatic speakers are, it’s not surprising that many people with a serious interest in music are completely unaware of them.
Colin Pykett has pointed out
https://www.colinpykett.org.uk/EndOfPipeOrgan.htm that distortion in most speakers is considerably greater than anywhere else in the audio chain: “As with amplifiers, there will be some distortion over the working voltage range of the loudspeaker, but in this case the figure is at least 50 times worse and often more”.
I use Hauptwerk mainly for its theatre organs; the electrostatic speakers are complemented by a set of eight Adam A3X for the Main chamber (accompaniment stops); eight Martin Logan Motion 10 for the Solo chamber (more powerful stops); pedals and lower manual piches are handled by a Behringer B2031A and a REL subwoofer. The electrostatic speakers receive a mix-down of all the channels, plus Liquidsonics reverb (via Reaper). With careful adjustment of balance this gives me the low distortion and consequent clarity of the electrostatics, combined with the the spread of sound from multiple channels.
I already have a spare pair of the Adam speakers, so by adding a further pair I can take that group up to 12 channels. I would only be re-routing the sounds in a limited sense – distributing one set of ranks between twelve speakers instead of eight. As you will know, intermodulation distortion is much worse when different notes feed one speaker, than when one speaker each receives all the Cs, C#s etc. On a theatre organ one is often playing melody plus accompaniment, with more notes in the left hand, so it makes sense to augment the speaker group for the “Main” organ chamber.
I’m trained as a classical pianist and organist; I’m fortunate in having a 1985 Feurich Model 190 grand – 6ft 3. In the 1980s this small German company was producing superb instruments - my piano tuner/technician considers them comparable with Steinways and Bosendorfers. In the year 2000 the company was taken over and manufacture transferred to China; I’ve not heard any of their current pianos so can’t comment on their quality. But I do have a top quality piano as a constant reminder of the sound of an acoustic instrument – over two hundred strings, all the sounds mixing in the air – and zero distortion! Meanwhile I’m sincerely grateful for your continued help at a time when you no longer officially support Version 4.