What's Next

I agree with you! The only way to know the sound quality of amps is to compare them in my system against the Rowland. I've compared several amps to the Rowland in my system and decided to keep the Rowland. There is one part of the equation that I also consider that I haven't talked about. When I evaluate components as possible replacements, I also take into consideration is it worth losing money on what I currently own to get something new.  e.g. I listened to the Paradigm Personas 7F and submit they sound good. Is it worth me selling my speakers at a loss and paying an additional $10K or more to get them... my answer is no. Now, if I could sell my speakers and pay $2K-$3k for the Personas 7Fs, that changes the equation. When I evaluated cables, because of the sonic differences and relatively minor cost to change from the Wireworld to Audioquest, it made sense to me. When you already own decent gear a change only make sense when the sonic benefits outweigh the cost. 

Hi Riced1,
Curious what you ended up doing with the PL500. I am in the UK abd have had great pleasure with my Modified AR9 speakers being driven by a full Musical Fidelity KW1000 system. I have since moved to the Lyngdorf TDAi3400 all in one box and is loving the speakers even more. I have the itch and demo'ed a pair of PL300 the left me rather disappointed in their lack of detail and top end drive. Seems the tweeters are attenuated to such levels that the sound sounded rather dark. I only opted to hear the 300 at the 500 did not arrive in time for the demo and I was led to believe the 300 and 500 have similar character???
I now await the arrival of the PL500 at the dealer and I am taking my Lyngdorf to the demo as the Naim units that they were driving the PL300 did not do them any justice either. 
The good thing about the Lyngdorf is the roomperfect and ability to trim the bass and treble so hoping this might help with the Monitor Audio voicing???
I like the look of the pl500 but still in doubt about its sonics compared to my AR9 or even a pair of Dynaudio Confidence C4..... 
Is this the same issue you have experience with your PL500 that you are describing as "clarity or detail"? The 500 have fallen in prices here, drastically and I was keen to buy a pair. Am I on route to a big mistake???

smcampbell,
There are no absolutes in Audio, only preferences. I've owned Wilson Audio Sophia 2s, 3s, and Sasha's. I've owned Audio Physics, Revel, Aerial, Artemis EOS, Mirage M1s, and listened to Dynaudio, Raidho, Magico, YG, KEF, Paradigm 7Fs, and Vivid Audio speakers. I purchased the PL500s because I had the opportunity to listen to them in my room, with my own equipment prior to purchasing. I recently thought about replacing them, but after listening to several speakers, the only speakers that I preferred over the PL500s were $70K Vivid Audio G1s and they are out of my price range. I personally wouldn't take Dynaudio C4s over MA PL500s.

Speakers are about finding the right components to compliment them based on an individuals preferred sound. To my ears the PL500s are very close to neutral or maybe on the slightly dark side of neutral. In my system, in my room they are chameleon like, with the recording dictating what type of sound they produce. They can sound dark, bright, big, or small depending on the recording. They disappear, have great detail, great soundstage and imaging. More importantly to my ears instruments have great tonality and they are very musical. The big mistake we make is letting someone tell us what sounds good based on popularity or what's hot in audio. A dealer recently told me don't let anyone convince you that the PL500 speakers aren't very good. All that being said, only yours ears can decide. I hope this helps!

Many thanks. Appreciated.
Agree, the final decision will come from somewhere between my two ears but most importantly from the how do I FEEL when I hear them playing the music I like. I am listening to Ernest Rangling - Soulful Moments as I type and the Lyngdorf/AR9 combination is close to heaven, but my speakers are old and want to tip my toes into more modern speakers. Have had B&W-703/803, KEF Ref, Gershman, TDL, SF Cremona, JBL Ti, along the way. The demo of the 300 did not leave me with the feeling I thought they would stir but only with the feeling that my AR9's are great.
I guess I would wait for the PL500 to arrive this week to go back for a session armed with the same test discs and my Amplifier. I dont think i would struggle with the Bass/Mid, just the really top end(Tweeter) - I listen to all genres and some caribbean music need the really high top end to do them justice which the 300 did not give me. I really hope the voicing is better in the 500.
Thanks....

What are the other components in the system with the PL500s? The PL500s are voiced on the slightly dark side compared to many of todays highly talked about speakers. In my system the PL500s have as much detail as any other; however it doesn't hit you in the face. If you like a forward sound, you won't like the PL500s.