Hi Spatine
Unfortunately what you have heard in your hifi shop trip is typical of the " hit & miss" affair of listening to systems at shops. Sometimes you get the great sound, sometimes you don't.
I own Strad's and run them with both Mac tube gear and cj tube gear.
The Mac tube gear sounds great and is not boomy at all - however it is a little slower in delivery due to the mid hall delivery of the electronics.
I have recently gone back to cj tube gear and the sound is better again. I little more control and life, mainly due to the fact the amplifiers are a bit more forward in the vocal delivery and feel faster. Purity is at an alltime high with this combo.
Personally I feel that the Strad's have plenty of detail and transparency for me and an organic feel that really allows me to attach to the music better than other speakers I have heard.
They can be seen as a little lean in the bass compared to the Wilson's, (definataly not boomy) so for my big room adding a REL subwoofer adds a nice sense of ease in the dynamic bass delivery that is pleasing overall to enjoyng music.
BTW, the pass labs XA60.5 wil be fine, however like any big speaker like this - going to 160.5 would be evern more heavenly.
good luck in your search.
Unfortunately what you have heard in your hifi shop trip is typical of the " hit & miss" affair of listening to systems at shops. Sometimes you get the great sound, sometimes you don't.
I own Strad's and run them with both Mac tube gear and cj tube gear.
The Mac tube gear sounds great and is not boomy at all - however it is a little slower in delivery due to the mid hall delivery of the electronics.
I have recently gone back to cj tube gear and the sound is better again. I little more control and life, mainly due to the fact the amplifiers are a bit more forward in the vocal delivery and feel faster. Purity is at an alltime high with this combo.
Personally I feel that the Strad's have plenty of detail and transparency for me and an organic feel that really allows me to attach to the music better than other speakers I have heard.
They can be seen as a little lean in the bass compared to the Wilson's, (definataly not boomy) so for my big room adding a REL subwoofer adds a nice sense of ease in the dynamic bass delivery that is pleasing overall to enjoyng music.
BTW, the pass labs XA60.5 wil be fine, however like any big speaker like this - going to 160.5 would be evern more heavenly.
good luck in your search.