They play fine at a lower level but come to life at mid levels, they give you a "live sound" in-room experience at times. They are what the recording is and the gear before it, no bass-heavy on every song, much like Electrostatic and Panels speakers in that sense, on some recordings you say where is the bottom end and then boom on the next disc you get hit in the chest with bottom end power. Which to me is how a good speaker should be, that is not adding to the recording but play it back at what it is being feed.