Mezmo,
I listened to the meadowlark kestrels at the same place you did, and I found them better than the Audio Physics and the jm Labs. A great package - no glaring shortcomings. For a while when I lived in NYC they were on my short list, along with the proac 1sc's which are exceptionally alluring, but I got a really bad vibe from the Proac dealer...saw a salesman there sell a "demo" stax headphone outfit to a customer - and then another salesmen passes him a note reading "aren't those the defective ones". From the first salesmen's reaction to the note, I'd have to bet they were the defective ones, sold as a demo, all sales final.
One of the frustrating things about choosing speakers is that I'll prefer x to y in one session, then the next session prefer y to x. This has happened many times with me between Thiel, Proac B&W and revel. I really like the 1.6 - very natural and detailed and I've been pretty amazed with the music I've listened to so far.
