So I decided to choose the red pill...

I returned yesterday from our local Guitar Center store and came away with a pair of Event Electronics Studio Precision 8 monitors. Today I have been testing these speakers against every speaker I have, and honestly there is nothing as detailed, acurate, and transparent as these speakers. Maybe I'm missing something here, but considering what I paid for these speakers I am left wondering why anyone would spend 5 times as much for high-end home audio speakers. Even my long-time "reference" speakers, the Klipsch RB5-II's are not this good. I've asked a friend of mine to bring by his Dynaudio's next weekend so we can have a double-blind evaluation session, so I'll know more then, but for now, these speakers are amazing.

I suppose if I have just one complaint, it is that their accuracy can get too noticeable, although I haven't quite decided if that's a good thing. I almost feel like I should not be hearing what I'm hearing. I can pick out exactly which CD's are good recordings, and which came from the bargain bin at Tower Records. More than with any speaker, I can hear the breaths that a singer makes between sentences, I can hear the guitar pick against a guitar's strings, and I can hear people cough in the audience where before I completely missed it.

The stereo imaging is incredible too. My favorite track to test this is an older release of Dave Brubeck's Take Five where the drum starts on the far left, the bass in the far right and the sax just left of center. Only my Klipsch and MB Quarts are as accurate as the Event's, but the later seem more precise in the exact location of the players. Truly incredible speakers. I guess they aren't completely "pleasurable" to listen to because they are so acurate, but can I ever be satisfied with the blue pill again?