Well said Saturn. BTW, I'm no longer using the " dimpled foam sleeping bag "sound diffusers" that you refered to (yes, my wife is very tolerent of my little obsesion, bless her heart).

I've learned that with a bit more judicious placement, it sounds just as good without them and really even much better. I've moved the speakers further apart and closer to the corners of the room and nearer to the side walls (where the side wall, back wall and the entertainment center form a sort of alcove). The result is that the upper bass is slightly more emphasized yet still tight and clean and the speakers now utterly dissapear into an even wider and deeper (didn't think it was possible) sound stage with pin point imaging. Sound stage dimensions with these things still amaze me even after a year with them (especially after moving them further apart). But I didn't know what I was missing until I took a bit more of a radical approach to placement.

I had a preconcieved notion (that I picked up from internet audio "experts") that the speakers needed a lot of distance from the side/back walls to perform thier best. Just goes to show that even the so called "experts" aren't right all the time. Once someone has a good system put together, the key to getting maximum performance is experimentation with speaker placement and room treatments no matter which driver design your speakers use.

P.S: Saturn, I still treasure the "Silver Surfers". Thanks again!

P.S.S: A personal message to all: Even real audio "experts" have biases. Listen for yourselves.

P.S.S.S: IMO, most Maggieheads don't buy them expecting bottom octave bass.

I live the life I love and I love the life I live.