I heard the Jmlabs Micro Bes for a good one hour demo at Sound by Singer. I was very impressed and set to buy them. After listening to the Caravelles I changed my tune. I preferred the Caravelles top to bottom. In fact, I listened to the Altos for a good while. Wasen't impressed for the $17k. Hey, whatever rocks your boat. I go with my ears; and they NEVER steer me wrong. Living in the NYC area, I've be able to listen to some serious speakers. The Caravelles are among the best I've heard. I know you picked the Jmlabs, just to make your point, but while we're on the subject?-they are, for my taste, great, but VERY overpriced speakers. Look, we can beat this to death. Bottom line? You never heard the Caravelles. I've heard them and all the speakers I mentioned. Look before you leap! Somehow, I think that after YOU listen, You won't want to pay the $5k+. Let's just wait and see. This is America. Starsound can charge anything they want. You can buy anything you want. Too costly? People won't buy them. There's capitalism/supply and demand in action. I would suppose, for most audiophools, regardless of the innards, the test comes down to listening to your tunes. If you got the dough you're going to buy these babies. Or at the least, put them on your top 5 list. peace, warren