Good to hear from you, SunnyJim!
Yes, I heard the Amygdala's at CES 2001. That was the Buggspeaker that originally turned my head. I kept coming back to the room over and over. I would characterize them as having rather natural timbre - neither "warmish" nor "analytical" really describe them. The Amygdala's had a refreshing lack of boxiness, something very rare in that price range. For example, there is a certain rosiny churrrumphiness to cello and double-bass that most speakers impose their signature on top of. The Buggs didn't. In fact, they impose very little sonic signature - one hears a great deal of variation between different recordings, which is a sign of an accurate speaker. And even music you aren't normally drawn to is enjoyable - which is a sign of a very good speaker. The bass was lively, neither overdamped nor hollow and underdamped like some transmission lines can be, and with very good pitch definition. I must confess I don't remember much about the soundstaging - every time I was there I was sharing the room with other listeners, and I don't think I ever got the "sweet spot".
At first when I heard the Buggtussels, it sounded to me like something was missing, but the sound was very engaging and musical. After going around and listening to other speakers, I was better able to put my finger on what it was: There was no boxy resonance subtly thickening the midbass. In comparison, many other speakers sound a bit warmer, but they also sound wrong after a while. I would expect the Buggtussels to appeal to the more experienced, been-there-done-that audiophile who is intimate with the sound of live instruments, as well as to die-hard Beverly Hillbillies groupies.
Like I tried to say earlier, their presentation is more intimate like what you'd get in a small hall or jazz club rather than enveloping like what you get in a large hall.
Duke
