Anyone heard these? I made the mistake of listening to the 2805s in a local shop - just popped in to talk cartridges as I'm upgrading my Sumiko, but they were all set up and ready to go, so I couldn't resist - and oh my god I have to have them! I've had ATC actives for five years now and in all that time have never heard speakers that I thought sounded more "right" or honest than my own. And these Quads just blew me away. Not only do they sound more like the real thing (in a subjective sense) than any speaker I've ever heard (and I've heard quite a few!), but they also dredged up vast amounts of detail - particularly ambient detail - without ever sounding the slightest bit bright or "etched", as many high end box speakers do. And they imaged like absolute BEASTS... I've heard Quad ESLs before - 57s and 63s - though not usually for any length of time, or in ideal setups. They've always been a mild disappointment, after the praise that's heaped on them. They've always sounded a bit flat, a bit lifeless. Not the 2805s. They were punchy and snappy and dynamic - they had real PRAT. Hate to use the old flat earth cliche, but my foot was a-tappin' at the slightest beat. And bass! Glorious, big, clean, beautifully textured bass! They may not go as low as some big box speakers (particularly at that price), but I didn't notice as what was there was so gorgeous! The closest analogy I can make was that they sounded like my Sennheiser HD600s, but huge and in front of me (rather than in my head!), slightly less warm (and more accurate for it), and with much better resolution and every semblance of veiling completely removed! Admittedly they were driven by the 4-grand Quad QC-24/II-Forties, but the front ends were rather more modest - the Quad 99CDP and [far better] the Funk V turntable with TechnoArm and Ortofon MC1-Turbo cart. Anyway, at 4.5K for the 2805s, they're a lot more money than I have lying around. But I'm still going to buy them! Give me 6 months, and by hook or by crook they will be mine - oh yes, they will be mine! :cool: Dunc