I'd have to say my impressions most resemble those of Bluewax. I have a strange room in that it is a single open floor plan that is kitchen, dining, and living rooms with only one short 2 foot wall that divides the kitchen area from the living area. I have less than ideal placement with the Adagios about 6 or so feet apart to the insides, and about 9 or slightly more feet to the listening position. This setup integrates amazingly well in the room and while there are some reflection issues, for the most part the presentation is well balanced, full bodied, and handles all varieties of music very well.
I agree that they are very much revealing of what's upstream of them and their presentation in my room has changed significantly based on the Minimax preamp, different ICs and speaker cables. To me they sound just slightly warmish, but that's how I like things, so long as it is not overdone, slow and mushy.
What I have also found with this latest IC change is that to me they are just going to sound better with tubes (to me, that is).
I certainly won't claim they are perfect, but I do believe the very minor complaints I have with them will be addressed with the tweaked crossovers that Response Audio is offering. If I never did that, I'd still be content, but if it just takes care of a few minor quirks, then it will be worth it to me to do.
They also seem to be a relatively easy load for a 89dB 2-way and I'll be putting this to the test this Friday or early next weelk as I plan to give them a spin with an Audio Note Oto integrated doing the honors -- parallel, single-ended 10 watt EL84 amplification.
I have not heard the particular Thiels mentioned, but I haven't heard a Thiel I've liked yet (which is more about describing my listening preferences than a slam against Thiel speakers), and to me the DeVores just didn't sound "right". I haven't listened to them very much and not in anything like an optimum room., but I'm fairly good at identifying sonic attributes as to whether they will work for me or not, and the DeVores, for whatever reason just didn't do it for me.
One last note about the Adagios which has not been mentioned so far -- they need to really be worked hard and long to break-in properly -- not the tweets, but the mid/bass drivers, and by long I mean long -- many hundreds of hours at pretty substantial levels and with all manner of music. So, some of the high-end - mid/bass disconnect is probably due to the fact that the tweeters seem to break in much faster.
I love my Adagios -- they suit my taste and budget well, now I just have to find the right amplification fit for them, and when I do, I'm sure they will make me very happy for a long time to come.
-- Jim
