bifwynne: My 2 cents. The Salons love power. I had B&W 802d's and the Ultima Salon 2's at the same time for awhile and A/B'ed them to decide which set to keep. I kept them both for so long (what can I say?) that when I eventually upgraded the amps from the ones I was using (I used Bryston and CJ at the time - switching between them of course) to 600 watt monoblocks the Salon's really sung. I kept them and sold the B&W's. Now guys, I know the difference in the retail price of the two sets of speakers, but they are comparable on the used market because B&W's hold their value more (yes, I'm anticipating comments I've heard before).