I can say without a doubt that I am addicted to the presentation I am hearing from my system. I have (as of late) been letting my equipment warm up before I listen. There is a positive difference with both my amp and cdp letting them warm up for about an hour.
I tried it in the past, but never really listened for the difference. It hit me like a wave last week...courtesy of the amazing vocalist Darren Hayes.
I have heard his voice sound good on my setup before, but never this buttery smooth. My kit has been blessed with fantastic midrange presence, but WOAH! I now have a wonderful lower-mid bloom, and the highs smoothed out. I don't have to contend with the little bit of edginess any more.
Ever since I decided to go the kef / marantz route, I have been impressed with what I have heard. With the right equipment the uni-q drivers are going to shine. They sound very cohesive. And as a result of the driver design, imaging can be mind blowing and very holographic.
I also believe that the perception of brightness is in the eye of the beholder. After having the speakers for over a year, they are totally broken in. I can obviously see how they would sound bright on inferior components. But, give it a quality diet and you will be rewarded. At first, I auditioned the iQ3 on rotel components and found it very bright and grainy sounding. When I switched gears to the maranz... the music ebbed and flowed.
Have to agree with Jan (once again) about keeping your preconceived notions at the door. When I first heard these speakers at the dealer I hated them. I listened longer, and longer still. My sales rep just smiled and let me do my thing.
These would have been my bottom pick out of the gear at that dealer, but I bought 'em after I gave 'em a good listen. I just kept coming back :-)
