I think it really depends on your taste of music...
WP7s are great speakers
I think WP7s do better with reproducing contemporary music- jazz, rock,pop... and even some classical vocals sounded fantastic
yet.. for reproducing chamber music and orchestral works, me, my father, mother, and my wife were all soo unimpressed (different occasions, but same gears ML436? the new monos +WP7)... sure it sounds good but I don't think it's worth of 20K..
I think the truely great speakers are ones that can closely reproduce the real instruments (unplugged)
Given my strong preferrence on classical music, WPs are not my choices
JBL K2 S9800 does mid and high much better
and for bass, Eggleston Andra II or BW N800 sounded more controlled (when these guys were hooked up with the right amps- Pass X160 for JBL, Mcintosh 501 for Andra and 800)
however, these guys are way beyond my budget -- I'm not selling my house for stereos..
and my wife thinks WP7s are plain ugly- there I lose WAF...
To me it doesn't really matter what kind of materials are used to make speakers; what matters in the end is MUSIC anyway :)
of course, all these are IMHO...
thanks for your recommendations bluesky
actually, I might stretch my budget and go for the matching CDP... looks also do matter don't they.. ^^
but I'll give my auditions to the arcams
I saw your postings at the asylum, too haha
hope to see you often around here and there :)
peace
J.