BUMP, After having a life evaluating health event I decided to spend some money on my system. I did have a buyer for my Blade 1 speakers, but realized there was nothing else out there I wanted to replace them with. I decided to try the Blades with a pair of Mac Mc611's and a c49 pre. I can't believe the difference at low volume the change made! I had no idea how much detail, dynamics, resolution, tone and layers of resolution...Can you tell I'm excited? IDK what I was expecting other than the pretty blue meters and I wonder if the Blades have even more potential? I wouldn't consider an upgrade to the meta without trying a step up in components first. The bass I can feel at a half a watt wasn't there with any speaker before. Did I get lucky or can a guy win a hand if he stays in the game long enough? idk, but it really SLAMS home the need for component matching regardless of reputation.