i just got a pair of monitor 40s wow i did not realize how harsh and in my face the sonys sounded, the transients and "fine" detail on these things is amazing. these things remind me of how my awesome KEF speakers sounded, until they went out, although these speakers literally sound "out of the box" i can close my eyes and feel like the musicians are in my room, the imaging is so awesome, i could swear im using a center channel even though i am not, and the voice is SO accurate on these, like someone is actually singing or speaking. these speakers sound so natural and transparent im really impressed.