Road trip to demo $10,000 speakers

I heard the References, 2+ and the 7s. Family resemblance was good.

I don't think the Hsu sub would be a good match in your room and layout.

IMO, the key to great imaging with a sub is to have good phase linearity for seamless integration. Without a crossover to roll the lows out of the 7s, a continuous phase control on the sub and freedom to place optimally, it's well nigh impossible.

Additionally, the LF processing maybe playing havoc with the 2ch playback.

@ieales -- Thanks for the thoughts about my room setup.  But I'd also be very interested in your thoughts about the comparison between T Refs and 7s in a less problematic setting, as it seems you may have auditioned both in typical dealer listening rooms(?)

However, as I felt I shouldn't hijack this thread that @skyscraper started, I started a new one at https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/anyone-compared-goldenear-triton-7-with-triton-reference  Very interested in your comparisons if you get a chance to reply there. Thanks.

Skyscraper,
Your Luxman amp should have plenty of power for the A3's. It is a good choice. We all have budgets, and I am sure you can find quality speaker cables within your budget. The prior SE version of the Audience speaker cables, available on the used market, would work well for you. IMHO, MIT and Transparent cables are overpriced for their performance, both new and used; Audience cables are fairly priced. The other speaker cables that would work are Jena Labs, which I use in my BR system. They are superb, but not easy to find used..
I use an Audience AR6 power conditioner with an Elrod Silver power cord. I have always loved Elrod PC's. They are something special.

Good luck.
Neal

Hey Mike!
I just discovered this thread, a great read and congrats on the new speakers. I am also in Roanoke and have spent tons of money both at Audiotronics and Command AV up in DC (great guys). I just picked up a Luxman L-509X and it sounds pretty incredible through my La Scala IIs. Wish there was an audiophile group or something here in the Roanoke area, we should connect somehow!