Interesting. I listened to C3's at Audio Alternative and A-B'd them against a pair of Revels. Set them up side by side, driven by the same equipment. Now, I think the Revels had more play time on them, but the first thing I noticed was that the C3's seemed more defined on detail, but metallic sounding, and after 30 minutes my ears got fatigued, while the Revels were easy to listen to. I wound up getting North Creek Eskas, and they seem to sound somewhere in between, for about 1/3 the price. Of course, I didn't have them in the store, so it's not apples for apples. When I talked with George Short at North Creek, I mentioned that the Seas metal drivers seemed harsh. He said he has had a pair in his lab and for two years can't make them sound right. I know a lot of things enter the equation, and Piega certainly uses high quality compnents, but side by side I found them not to my liking. Several people wandering in and out of the store thought the same thing, particularly with male vocals on a Chad Mitchell Trio recording. Hearing John Denver from 1965 really helps with timbre. The good thing was the money I saved; I drooled over the cabinets and would have bought them in a minute if they had been a little more mellow.
