I heard both the big and the smaller versions at AXPONA this year. They sounded good and filled the room convincingly. They are clearly a "lifestyle" product, intended to put music in a space you happen to be occupying at the moment, rather than an "installation" you visit to actively listen to music, but they do it well. I know that Andrew Robinson's online review complained about an "inconsistency" in the sound - and he certainly had much more of an opportunity to listen than I did - but I didn't experience wide track-to-track "quality" variance at the AXPONA demo, including when the Marantz reps played samples I requested.
My friend has a fireplace in his kitchen with a chair and a small couch, and he's thinking about getting one to put on the mantel so he and his wife can have music with good sound while they're either working in the kitchen or maybe just having a coffee or reading a book by the fireplace.
