Likely, the wider ribbons are less good for HF-only than a long, narrow ribbon, like the G3 and G3Si use. Across the board, the larger the ribbon gets (and the lower the ribbon is made to go), the worse the dynamics at a higher frequency. This gets confusing when the bigger ribbons are more efficient, but I think it is true at given SPL at HF. Although I have never heard a ribbon that did not lack the last word in dynamics, the smallest and lightest I have tried, up high, have better dynamic sound than the larger "damped" ribbons, etc. There is no doubt that the damped (coated and/or backed/and/or faced) "ribbons" are the worst of the ribbons in terms of the dynamic softness you note (at least, as I understand it). They seem to excell at making nasty highs more tolerable.
You mention trying a 3rd order x-over, and my first thought of why you might do this would be to keep the ribbon from messing up what the S2 does better. Still, I will be surprised if the "best" ribbon you find doesn't work best with a more gradual x-over.
If you haven't done it yet, try moving your head around through the output axes of your S2 and the ribbon-du-jour. *Perhaps* phasing is less important if you always listen off-axis, but it is educational, none-the-less, to hear the abrupt transitions in output and response, in some cases like a "Venitian blinds" effect. It seems odd to me that phasing/tuning for HF can be similar to finding the right spot for bass, where it just suddenly appears out of nowhere when you finally position the speakers (or yourself) correctly, except with HF, of course, we're talking very small movements making big changes.
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