I know where you're coming from reg.  I reckon I've lived with a number of distortion free set-ups, especially speakers to know how loud they are playing.  Each time I do an upgrade which cleans up the signal, I have a tendency to wind the wick up that little bit more.  Not because it sounds quieter, but because I can and it doesn't make me wince to do so. 

 That's exactly my worry Merl.  Having never lived with a panel/stat I wouldn't know if I would miss the things I take for granted with cones.

Think I'll start up another thread as I'd be interested in hearing from people who've lived with these things, of which I know there are a few on here.