Panheadrt, I'm not a fan of the B&W sound, I find them to be a bit "chalky". I will say that on one occasion, some time ago I heard a earlier version of the 802's driven by big hybrid counterpoint amp in a very large room sound simply grand and glorious. I'm don't think I ever heard a recorded big choir sound better. But the amps got too hot fairly quick and the system had to be shut down. Never heard B&W's sound that way again. I love the coherent, all drivers sounding as if "cut from the same cloth" sound of the Thiels. Perhaps its the time and phase correct 1st order crossover/stagered driver approach. While other manufactures that use this same approach may offer a different sound, they all seem to provide this same quality. A quality, that is particularly attractive to me for some reason. Not quite, but close to some of the better single driver speakers without the inherent compromises those speakers tend to have. While the Thiels may not be the very best in any one specific area, they tend to be amongst the best in all areas. This is especially true as you go up the line to thier bigger products. The only real weakness of the Thiels is that they can be unforgiving, being extemely demanding of appropriate gear and they will reveal a lack of quality even in gear that is otherwise technically up to the task. I typicaly find imported speakers to be a poor value compared to the domestic speakers. Of course, the Chinese may change all that. One other thought to consider is manufacturer support, Thiel's reputation might be the best in all of audio. I'd imagine that dealing with a manufacturer across the pond might be a bit more challanging. Thiel certainly has their detractors, so does B&W. Again, it's a personal decison as to which products pros and cons seem to align with your tastes.
