When you listen to speakers, you are really listening to the whole system, the setup, and the room. I have Vanderseen 5A's set up by Richard himself...and yet, it took 5 years or so, to get them to sound as good as they do. It is sooooo difficult to just get a component (yes a highly rated one), drop it into a system and expect it to be nirvana...oft times there are 4 or 5 steps rearward and lots of fussing to advance the performance.