I was using custom made minimonitors for a few months, which were very articulate, quick and transparent and sounded fully satisfactory on vocals and small ensembles but did not have the deep bass extension and the impact which becomes important when listening to large bands and orchestras. Then I accidentally chanced upon the Audyssey APS 5+2 speakers which were manufactured by Energy in Canada (it's a shame that they were discontinued).
It was a closout deal for $1250 (original retail $2500) and I bought them blindly without auditioning. Boy, they literally knocked my socks off! They are 3 way bipolar floorstanders, with built in subs (they look very similar to the Definitive Technology Bipolar 7 and are virtually identical to the Mirage OM6 which are their sister speakers).
They are a perfect match for the Stratos and it is a mere coincidence that they are namesakes. To realize their full potential, you have to use the monoblocks or do what I'm doing--- I'm a maverick and use 2 Stereo Stratos in electronically bridged mode which no-one else does in the Odysssey camp, even Klaus did not endorse this.
These speakers have incredibly powerful and tight bass response down to 20 HZ without sacrificing the precise imaging and transparency that my minimonitors are famous for. In addition, they have a much taller and deeper soundstage than my small speakers.
They have the slam of an express train and can rock the house.
I have heard various speakers, dynamic and electrostatic, costing up to 10-12 K, including the Revel Studios, B&W 801, Final, Genesis, Acoustat, Magnepan etc. which all had their fine points and did certain things well but none of these got everything right as the Energies do.
I have not heard the Veritas 2.8 which is the other flagship made by Energy but cannot imagine that these are better than the APS 5+2.
Audio Advisor is out of them (I and my friends picked up the last 3 pairs) but they are still available at some places on the net---they are the audio bargain of the century!!!!!!
Cheers,
Zoltan
