supplement to the above...Thiel 3.7's are indeed wonderful in the mids and high but do not have the low extension and control of the 3.6's. The Apogees' midrange, especially, is very nice, powered by AR's HD220. Audio Unlimited's demo of Focal 1037be with Boulder 1000 electronics and Tara Labs cabling was detailed and sweet throughout all ranges, maybe a little light-footed, but very pleasant. Vandersteen 5's were outstanding imagers and, honest-to-god, Beatles' "Yesterday" never sounded better.
Note: I mostly steer clear of systems too big for an actual house. Making a violin sound bigger than a cello crosses from sound reproduction to sound reinforcement for me. Also don't spend more than a few minutes listening to quirky stuff that looks like a lamp.
Best give-away: 8520 Audio's eponymous bottles of hot sauce, which they also used as trestles to keep equipment/cables off the ground.
Most surprising disappointments, to my ears, your results may vary: Marten's which sound good, but not $200K good; Sonus Faber Elipsa's, which sound good but not $20K good; Usher 718be Tiny Dancers, which may be a lot better than the harsh music they were playing.
Finally, thanks to Mitch2 for the cocktail/aspirin tweak...the second day is going better...
Note: I mostly steer clear of systems too big for an actual house. Making a violin sound bigger than a cello crosses from sound reproduction to sound reinforcement for me. Also don't spend more than a few minutes listening to quirky stuff that looks like a lamp.
Best give-away: 8520 Audio's eponymous bottles of hot sauce, which they also used as trestles to keep equipment/cables off the ground.
Most surprising disappointments, to my ears, your results may vary: Marten's which sound good, but not $200K good; Sonus Faber Elipsa's, which sound good but not $20K good; Usher 718be Tiny Dancers, which may be a lot better than the harsh music they were playing.
Finally, thanks to Mitch2 for the cocktail/aspirin tweak...the second day is going better...