Hi magiccabbage,
I was at a local hi fi store the other day, and heard the Kef LS-50's ...did not even come close, literally and figuratively! I have a pair of VMPS 40's that are good, but not like these. Have not heard any mega bucks speakers recently, but I can say this...these are extremely natural sounding speakers....and I've been around live classical music all my life....these come so close to live, it really is amazing, especially at their price point.
I can safely say, these speakers are "phenomenal".....that's just one positive word that comes to mind. You would be disappointed to say the least, if you did not
give these an audition. Last night, listening to a choir cd in a church setting, the sound was all around me, so 3d, it was eerie. Listening to Tony Bennet, Elvis Presley, Nora Jones, Eva Cassidy etc, they were floating in between the speakers with such clarity, it was amazing, without being overly bright etc. Big Band cd's....huge soundstage behind the speakers, and all around me, depending on the recording venue....placement of instruments etc within that soundstage is right on the money...... Trumpets, horns, like they should sound live, cymbals, drums, clear!
All these positive attributes have been with the WA5 at 10 watts! Will be trying SS with an upgraded Threshold S200 and a Lightspeed Passive Attenuator later this weekend
They are without a doubt, very natural, musical, effortless sounding 2 way speakers. What you feed them upstream is important...ANY change is immediately noticed, that's how detailed and real they are.
Also, I am listening with older equipment, Sony XA7es CD, Aragon D2A Dac, and I am getting this kind of quality sound!