hi songwriter,
you and i are actually much closer together than you might think. i am very sure that the gmas were a complete revelation to what you had before and i am glad that you have found them. you obviously enjoy them tremendously and be sure, that they are a great product.
as a designer, i must look at all relative issues and not fixate on one over another. you might be really shocked to know exactly what my feelings are on phase and time alignment. i can tell you i share much of your belief but i will not go into that here. i just think there are more important issues that need to be dealt with if the phase and time issues are dealt with in a comprehensive manner. that is why, when ever i did a seminar i asked those attending what their personal preferences in reproduced sound were. i found it was a mixed bag that was constantly changing.
for that reason, i feel strongly that until you hear my speakers playing music the way they were designed to be used or see them tested, you are relating assumption based on preconception.
it may be true that you still won't enjoy them as much as your gmas but you know what? i'll bet you like them more than you thought you would. they have other stregnths to consider.
in the past you have gone after a number of my customers and upset them with aggressive comments/behavior. volker in va on audio asylum was another occurance like this one. here the professor said he likes the explicit nature of the vsm and you took it to mean that the speaker was flawed. you cared not that he was listening too much in the near field and used silver wire on them. again the comment of using the headphones as a comparison tool. i specifically recommend not to do these things but guess what, he likes/prefers it that way. it was and is, his taste.
the same went on here with minsoo. does not matter how he has them set up or what he is using on them...it is the speaker that is wrong.
i hope this that this can finally be put to rest songwriter. it is good to feel so strongly about a thing, but not to be a pest.
these speakers are used by many as a reference tool for many things and it is not because they are flawed. they are very continuous and show great contrast without being bright (if set up as i suggest). they have a very wide bandwidth and sound like music.
again, i think you would like them.
regards,
bobby