I had the Grande 8s and really liked them. However, when I heard the hemptones, I was in love. So I sold my 8s and called Louis. As always he was friendly and informative. In fact he bent over backwards to help me. He gave me the whole rundown on the good and bad of the speakers and really made me feel appreciated and valued as a customer. I received the speakers about a week ago and they sounded really great right out of the box. Louis says they will get much better as they break in. I was really amzed by the depth of the sound stage. On some selections, it was as if I was literally surrounded by the music. They are also very detailed and a champ at large and small dynamics. They are little forward right now, but I have heard broken in speakers and that abates. I am using a 10 watt/ch el 84 push pull amp and the speakers easily get loud enough to be heard by the neighbors without clipping. They are in the teak veneer and they are absolutely beutiful. Louis really knows what he is doing and clearly spent his time designing and building this speakers so they were right when they were released to the customers.
a very special appreciative thanks to Louis.
John