Hi ya Tony,
I had these speakers before and they have always been one of my favorites. Excellent bass, treble etc. The bottom end on these is far better that I remember. For some reason I had it in my head that the bass was a little lite but that is not the case. I find the bass to be on the money. Not muffled just good bass. As for the 50's vs the 9i's. They are a lot alike but not alike at all if that makes sense. They are both what I would call a laid back speaker but to me the sound of the 9i's is heads and tails above the 50's. I still love the 50's but the 9i's take everything the 50's do well to a new level.
