The comparison between Briks and ES14s is interesting.
Personally, I think both designs sound rather dated today. drive unit technology has moved on considerably.
Theres no question that drive unit technology has moved along by leaps and bounds since the ES14 saw the light of day. The design and measurement software packages that are readily available at almost beer-budget prices permit analysis and evaluation precision which simply wasnt possible in the early 80s. Couple that with rapid advances in materials technology and the low-cost precision engineering capacity that is available from Korea and China and it ought to be an easy task to build something that leaves the ES14 looking distinctly stone age.
Ive looked recently at some of the drivers that RM considers to be every-day objects and been astounded by the technology on offer. Ive not been lucky enough to try any of them, but Im assured that the linearity and the distortion performance are an order of magnitude better than the best that the ES14 era could offer.
There is, of course, an inexplicable charm in owning and using vintage products, even though their performance can probably be beaten by something bought today for loose change. I myself am very happy when I listen to my old Tannoys or take snaps with my Leica M4 camera.