True, which is why I'm curious about the upcoming ninja upgrade to Paradigm Studio 20's. They aren't a "high value" speaker despite being very good. Again, I assume it's aimed at existing owners loyal to their favorite speakers.

Internet direct in general offers better value, and there are a number of companies out there doing it. Certainly I am a believer in ID, as I considered Axiom, Ascend, AV123, B&W, and Paradigm before purchasing, and found B&W and Paradigm to fall behind in the value category definitively.

All of that naturally figures in when considering any upgrade. For that matter, if I'm going to buy something for my front end, like a DAC, or an amp, or cables, or whatever, I have to think about how much improvement I'm getting. Compared to some of those items, new speakers will usually be a better value and a more dramatic improvement. Its not that way every time, though, and sometimes you want to keep the same size, finish, or other attributes, and get an improvement. I'd wager that whatever the level of improvement an upgraded xover gets you, it's in the ball park with some of those other things I mentioned.

(note: I have $10 speaker cables from musicians friend and $6 hdmi cables from monoprice, so I'm not one of "those" people. - you know who I mean)

Tim Evans
East Street Audio