GMA Callisto vs. Reference 3a De Capo i

Crgolfer, "To each his own". I own the Reference 3A MM DeCapos and owned a pair of Athena AS-B1s (bookshelf vs your floorstanders) for a couple of days. The Athenas had zero redeeming qualities IMHO (they were inexpensive though).

My DeCapos are the non-i version, so maybe that is the difference. In my system thay are nearly opposite of what you describe. They are somewhat soft on the top end and are distinctly mid-hall in my room.

I have yet to hear a better speaker in my room. This may be room dependent, but I've owned about 6-7 different speakers over the last ten years. The DeCapos have lasted the longest by a wide margin and they are not the most expensive of the bunch.

Enjoy,

TIC

Crgolfer,

Man, that is odd. I've had about 10 different speakers in my current room and my DeCapos (non-i version) are about the easiest on the ears of any of the ones I've owned. Admittedly, mine are the non-i version and the tweeter is probably the most significant difference between mine and the current "i" model.

I've never heard the Callistos. When I bought my DeCapos for $1000 (for a cosmetically and functionally perfect pair) about 3 years ago, I got off the speaker merry-go-round. They've lasted longer that any other component in my audiophile history.

Enjoy,

TIC