I think you do need to listen to the blade meta though regardless of the components as there seems to be a slight dips and peaks in an otherwise relatively flat frequency response. Some people actually like their original blades better for this reason.. because certain male vocals can sound "nasilly".
Here is what one reviewer said about the metas "
"Steve Winwood has a more nasal vocal than many other singers. It’s more evident on the Blade Meta than on most other speakers. It’s clear that the speakers don’t dress up sharp recordings at all, when much of the energy is in the 2-3 kHz range.
This wasn’t something I’d noticed before, because while the speakers aren’t silky smooth by any means, they usually just come across as linear and packing a lot of punch. They don’t usually have any gain in the 3 kHz range.
But when that particular frequency range sticks out negatively on a recording, playing loud isn’t quite as cool. Even at moderate sound pressure levels, it can be just over the top, and I think it’s fair to say that we’ve found an example of music that the Blade One Meta isn’t particularly keen on. Which is why I think I’ll skip Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty this time around"
The majority still like the metas better because they feel more engaged, although as I was trying to say earlier I think thats not the role of the speaker.
Some people are drawn to speakers like B & W because they are drawn in during demos, and then complain later on that their system sounds way too bright.
These tonal characteristics can be resolved upstream, with source, dac, preamp, cables, and amp. You build upstream to get the type of sound you want. The speaker should be flat imho. Thats why I prefer the original blades
They do sound different though. It seems this meta’s were aimed at people who didnt find the originals "lively". Thats exactly how I felt listening to the non metas paired with hegal
After pairing with a sweeter class A amp and some silver speaker cables I’m in heaven with the originals
If your not willing to spend a lot of money upstream you will probably prefer the metas
The blades need surprisingly a lot of power to really sing, Meaning to pair the blades with a class A amp, and truely power them correctly will cost some real money in amp pairing
The metas do have cleaner treble and a better crossover as well