Kw13 re your second audition,
06-27-10:
"Went back for second audition. This time Contriva not as impressive. The stand out vacal in first audition a few weeks ago was gone. Still very enjoyable but not much more special than any other high end pair. Dealer said he had optimized speaker position. More suited to classical music."
Just a thought - Seems to me here that the dealer might have moved the speakers a tad too far apart in hoping to achieve more 'grandness' (to capture better/larger orchestral presentation/scale). However, at the cost of sacrificing some center image fill, hence, loosing that sense of vocal immediacy and illuminated palpability you experienced during your first.