Hello James,
Sorry for the late reply. I'd love to help you out with deciding which speakers were better, but unfortunately, I'm afraid that I probably won't be of much help to you. You see, I made my decision to purchase the CS2s without actually hearinging what they sounded like beforehand. I chose to buy them based mainly on the reviews and the impressions that I read about them here on AudioCircle, on AudioAsylum, and Audiogon. I never heard them before I decided to buy them, and I did not manage to hear what any other speakers sounded like either before I chose to buy the CS2s to see whether or not I liked the sound of any other speakers over the CS2s. The reason why I did not do this is because the most important consideration for me when buying the speakers was time, because I have precious little time left, you see I am entering into the medical profession, and the schooling is getting harder and harder and more and more intense, and so I knew that I would not be able to have much time in order to go around to different audiophile stores and to other people's houses and to audition and hear many different pairs of speakers because I am in the middle of my school semester. But I still wanted to buy a good pair of speakers that would last me for a long while, but as my courses get harder and harder, I realize that I have to bear down more on my courses and concentrate on that and that alone, and unfortunately, that means that I have to pay less and less attention to audio things, and so in looking for a pair of speakers, I knew that I wanted to buy a pair of speakers that would last me for at least a good five years, or maybe longer.
But the real thing that drew me to the CS2s was the description that people gave about the speakers' sound after they heard them. Many people, on many of the audiophile boards on the Internet, said that when they heard the speakers, that the speakers sounded like they were hearing a performance "live". That's it. That's exactly what I was looking for, that's the very reason why I started the thread, "what is the most realistic speaker technology", and tried to find out which speaker sounds the most realistic. I wanted a pir of speakers that would sound like they were recreating the live experience. Of course, you can imagine that I got plenty of different answers to my threads, with one of the most common answers being that I would have to audition different speakers in real life, and to hear them for myself, because everyone has a different idea of what "realistic" means, and I thought that that was very wise. But of course, that was the exact opposite of what I actually could do since school is beginning to take up more and more of my time, and my medical courses are becoming harder and harder, and I did not have enough time to go around and to actually hear what different speakers sounded like in person. So the only thing that I had to go on was what other people said, and so I had to think long and hard about my decision. I was actually seriously considering buying either a pair of Coincident speakers or Merlin speakers, new or used, those are the two choices that I had narrowed it down to. I would have had to wait a few more months to save up more money in order to buy these speakers new, as that was outside of my self-imposed budget, but I was willing to do it, if other people said that the speakers sounded good. But then I thought about it, and I realized that that would have left me paying attention to audiophile concerns for at least a few more months, as even if I could afford the speakers, I would have to save enough money for associated amps and other components, and be thrifty and scrimp for the other components for a long time more, and that it would have been at least one more year before I could put together a complete system, and that that would have left me paying attention to audiophile concerns well into the harder, more involved, part of my schooling, like while learning clinicals in a hospital, something which I could not afford. And so based on what everybody said, I decided to buy the CS2s instead. That way, I would have enough money to buy a complete system, and I would be able to build a system almost immediately, and I would not have to pay attention to audio concerns for several more years out of necessity.
And so then, because of everyone's enthusiastic response to the CS2s, and the very low, (comparatively) price of the CS2s, I decided on the CS2s. I have yet to receive my speakers yet, although they are on order, and so I have yet to hear them, but I realized somewhere along the line that even if I had made a mistake, that at least I will have made a $3000 mistake, instead of a $12000 one, (the approximate price of one of the higher-end pair of speakers from the Coincident or Merlin line if I could not get them used including delivery), and that I could live with, while a $12000 mistake, would be much harder to live with. I know that the Emerald Physics speakers are not the "best" pair of speakers out there, if there is really such a thing, but, even with my limited audiophile experience, I know that you would have to spend much more than $10000 in order to get such a thing, although I know perhaps many would disagree with me. Now, I have never heard a pair of Coincidents or Merlins in person, though I know that they are good speakers from what numerous audiophiles and the audiophile press has said about them, but how they sound compared with the CS2s, well, is anyone's guess I suppose.
Well, I hope that this has helped you in some way, and I am sorry that I could not answer your questions fully and help you further. I hope that you find someone who can answer these questions for you. Once I receive my CS2 speakers, which Clayton said should be about in 2 or more weeks, if you have any other questions about them, just ask me, and I'll be happy to help you out with answering them after I set up my system. In the meantime, I wish you good luck in your search for answers to your questions, and if you are in the market for a pair of speakers like I was, then I hope that you arrive aat a decision that sounds good and that makes you happy.
Leroy
