Mapman - I don't want to sound like I am bragging, but both in this case and at Ohm's room at the Chester Group Show in NYC in November, I preferred my system by a significant margin.
In the case of he doubled Ohm Fs, I could see how they might be a bit smoother and more relaxed than my 2000s (a lot more cone surface area). But as good as they were, they could not match the bass output of my Vandy subs. Also, the turntable feeding the Mark Levinson preamp and Marantz receiver was not operating perfectly (a long story that I am not at liberty to discuss). I think there also may have been issues with one of the four speakers (a blown fuse may have been replaced during the day). Add to that the unfamiliar source material, vintage SS low powered amplification, and rather small room, and it wasn't a legitimate comparison.
At the THE show, I thought the 1000s were just okay. Hotel room acoustics weren't helping, and although the Peachtree integrated had enough juice (150 watts X 2), the Sony DVD player used as a source (into the Peachtree's DAC) was not exactly a high end front end. They sounded good, and impressed a lot of show goers. But to me, they fell a bit short of my own rig.
As Paul McGowan of PS Audio would say, maybe I am just acclimated to my own rig. But I think I have the whole system dialed in pretty well. The funny part is, I haven't put a lot of effort into it. The 2000s are positioned where the room dictates - there aren't many options for placement if I want to keep them away from front and side walls. I put up some foam panels, but I had even more up and took some down. I think I could use some diffusion, but that's pricey, and, for now, on hold. The Vandy subs I just plunked in the front corners as per Vandersteen's recommendation. The only tweeks are mass loading on the subs, my 3-point Sound Anchor cradle bases for the 2000s, and some foam speaker cable supports. I also credit the Odyssey Audio amp. At the same meeting I heard the Ohms Fs, I also heard KEF Blades. I've heard the Blades numerous times, including at the Wiesfeld's home, and never was too thrilled. This time, they were really good. Not, "take my Wilsons and give me these" good, but better than I'd ever heard them before. Guess what amps were powering them? Odyssey Audio Stratos Monos. "Only" 180 watts per side, arguably a bit low-powered for The Blade, but the sound was really good.
Bottom line: I'd rather be lucky than smart. I have sort of stumbled into what I consider really good sound in my home. Sure, I did some research and listening, but I made a lot of educated guesses and ended up with I think is excellent system synergy.
