I finally got around to setting up a serious listening environment in my new rec room, and spent the night checking out the prototype of the nextel HT3. Unfortunately, I only have one HT3, so I can't A-B it with the Magnesium. And I had to trash that crossover anyhow to find suitable parts for the new board. I did A-B it with my own CA0W1, which is a small 2-way using the 0W1 tweeter and a Seas midwoof. That was just to check for midrange and treble balance. Of course, there's no comparison in the bass department. Otherwise, the balance was similar, but the HT3 had a little more relaxed presentation with more open highs at the very top, thanks to the ribbon. Is the Nextel more relaxed than the Magnesium? I really don't know. I wish I could get a bunch of people who think metal = zingy or harsh into my rec room and let them hear the W18 magnesium playing alone with the HT3 mid crossover components in place. I think they would be amazed at howl dull and relaxed it sounds. The mid only handles 3 octaves, and the metal break-up mode is quashed by a trap circuit, and then depressed way down by the series inductor. If you bring in the tweeter above that, I just don't see how any remnants of the breakup would be audible. But as I told Jim, sometimes it's best not to argue and just provide a viable alternative, which I think we have done. Besides, the Nextel is a great driver with super smooth response.