I've had a pair for about a month and like them. Bass is definately an improvement over the Druid and high end resolves without congestion with the new ribbon. I was worried about the loss of efficiency (from 101 to 97) but my flea powered 45 SET amp (2 watts)drives them fine. The essence seems like a more "refined" Druid - keeps the strong points and attempts to address some of the weaknesses. Is it worth $5K? That will be a personal call. At between $2K - $3K I thought the Druid was great value. At $5K I think the Essence moves into a price class where there are a lot of good speakers to check out.
