Bond, it would maybe be a good thing to contact John and see what his thoughts may be. My 2000 drivers in the OW2 cabinets eventually smoothed out pretty nicely. Unfortunately, I had to get the OW2's back to their owner, but I feel like I got a very good feel for them. I am hoping yours will smooth out as well.
I never really got the same midrange issue as you, and surely not anything I would call "distortion". I think there were times that I could overdrive them a bit in my room which would muddy things up a bit. But once I got past the slight mid-bass bloat, things settled in very nicely!
Bond, I have a Narada sampler that has I believe David Lantz/Christofore's Dream, good piano, it makes for a nice demo. Some folks don't care for the Narada stuff, but I like it.
My main reason for going to the 3000's is that they will mesh better with my room volume and I will not have a tendency to overdrive them. Not that I listen to music at ungodly levels, but there are those times when you just feel like you want some concert-hall levels!
Also, not trying to take sales away from John at all, but have you watched any film with the Walsh's set up, center in Phantom mode, in my setting I am very pleased with how things sound without a center channel, but rooms and placement will have a big influence on that. I am thinking about getting a pair of Microwalsh's at some point for my surrounds.
I hope you can get squared away with your 2000's Bond, I do think you will enjoy them a lot. Sometimes too, I think it is all too easy to get in the "critical listening mode" instead of just letting the music speak for itself. Especially when you are in the dem mode and making sure these are what you want to purchase. Enjoy! Tim
