Yes, there is a new X-Series offering coming from AV123 that is called Super Wave Guide (SWG), which is a 2-way with a box slightly larger than the X-LS. I could be wrong, but Danny's hands are in most of that speaker line, which is a good thing. The price on SWG has been moving around based on feature set, but sub $1k last I heard.
As I said in my closing comment, seeing some of these good things from each approach starting to converge on future designs will be interesting.
An important point I missed on the SP Tech, that I should have said, is that his approach is apparently scalable to a wide variety of price points, though still not inexpensive. Check out the whole waveguide based range, from the cool new "Mini" at $2500 all the way to the Grand Revelations at $20k+. All with the same house sound. Nice.
My limited understanding on the CS2 crossover is that it is just that. Not any real trickery going on in the DCX, just steep slopes for the most part. It's also stock Behringer, cheap op amps, smps, etc. that already has the modders whipping up to a frenzy. One big plus is that at least the top end is about 100db efficiency, opening the door to a whole realm of low power amps. Should be fun to see all that evolve too.
The LS6/9's are going into the hands of a much wider variety of people, probably a whole different total audience. Some are very seasoned audiophiles, with experience and patience in tuning systems to their liking, who will spend the time and money to get it right. Associated gear is top notch. Music is first for them, and they will surely shine in those environments. Others are going into step up HT systems. I haven't really grasped the advantage of gigantic line sources for that situation, but if it makes them happy, go for it. I doubt they're going to be quite as critical of them, as the LS's have to be about as good as it gets for someone who has room and does mostly HT. Not saying that to be a snob, but having a separate HT myself, I don't find myself expecting the same things of it as I do my 2-channel. I wouldn't dream of putting my Merlins there, which would be a waste IMHO. Shared systems are a different story. Dynamics and wide dispersion are king in HT, which the LS's certainly do really well. The extraordinarily low price point also makes these very accessible to the noob or even "budget" (if there is such a thing!) audiophile music lover who might stretch to spend $3-4k on speakers but would never consider $6-10k+ plus associated quality gear. It might be their first intro to the high end and should provide quite a thrill. This is where the fun starts too, as most of those will not pair them up with $30k tube amps, rather more reasonable components that still have exceptional merit. My Odyssey setup is a prime example of that kind of gear though I expect it will perform really well. I sure hope so, because like most, I am on a budget that does have limits at some point!
The common thread with all three of the excellent choices you mentioned (plus maybe Odyssey), is that at least for me, all of them helped me enjoy listening to music of all types. Unfortunately, that can't be said for a lot of systems I've heard, particularly at RMAF.
Tom
