Jtofish : Have you reviewed the article on The Audio Critic web Site. Peter A. thinks they are a great buy. As for being PA amps well I think studio /stage amp is closer to the facts.
To Seth: The sound to me could be characterized as silky mids , no congestion during complicated musical passages ,lots of detail an deep bass. No solid-state burnout to my ears. Perhaps they are a tad "dry" but listen to the 500's in a reference system changing them out for anything between 5-10K US. Of course they are voiced differently but not that different to justify the expense. Buy them , save as much money as possible buying the best speakers your money can buy. If possible have a dealer hook up the 500s so you can hear them in real time before buying those speakers.
Seth,do you know what's really scary in 2 channel? Buy a Oppo HD 970 via the internet hook that unit straight into two 500's, the 500's into your choice of speakers. Perhaps one of the best buys in audio today for less than $700 w/o speakers.
To Seth: The sound to me could be characterized as silky mids , no congestion during complicated musical passages ,lots of detail an deep bass. No solid-state burnout to my ears. Perhaps they are a tad "dry" but listen to the 500's in a reference system changing them out for anything between 5-10K US. Of course they are voiced differently but not that different to justify the expense. Buy them , save as much money as possible buying the best speakers your money can buy. If possible have a dealer hook up the 500s so you can hear them in real time before buying those speakers.
Seth,do you know what's really scary in 2 channel? Buy a Oppo HD 970 via the internet hook that unit straight into two 500's, the 500's into your choice of speakers. Perhaps one of the best buys in audio today for less than $700 w/o speakers.