I'm with you, but if you can give up high and low frequencies, and live without high spl and low coloration, then single-ended triodes coupled with horn-loaded Fostex banana-cone single-driver speakers can make a special magic happen. Bose, but with clarity and subtlety. For some listeners, the midrange is all that matters. Everything else is a distraction. If I was a musician, I might be in that camp. Here's an anecdote I have on good authority: George Szell complained that his recordings had no highs. (!) Upon investigation, it was found that the maestro's speakers were placed on the floor behind the furniture. -----Original Message----- From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jamie Howarth Sent: Friday, October 11, 2013 10:03 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] a prime case of why subjective reviews of audio gear are USELESS I love this discussion. Which would you rather hit with a sharp steep short transient, the Krell or the Cary? Lemme guess. . A beryllium neodymium tweet. 33kHz resonance - stops in a dime. Or a slowish tweeter. Like a cloth or propylene dome. Which rings into next week when it's hit with the same spike. Please pardon the misspellings and occassional insane word substitution I'm on an iPhone