Originally Posted by
davef
I believe when most people refer to the "speed" of a speaker or a subwoofer, they are unknowingly referring to transient response. They do not mean how "fast" the woofer is moving or how fast it can move, but how quickly that woofer can come to a full stop and start. This is no myth or fallacy, and is easily measured and is often quite audible. Low mass drivers in combination with low inductance and powerful motor systems = greater transient accuracy. Add to this Direct Servo - which further improves transient accuracy.
Ribbon and electrostatic speakers have exceptionally accurate transients - and as such, it is indeed important to try and extend that to the subwoofer as well (at least as best as is possible as no sub can match these speakers).
There is a reason so many electrostatic and ribbon speaker owners are using Rythmik subs or have been pointed towards Rythmik.
The F8 is an incredibly articulate subwoofer.