Any thoughts on Osborn/ Krix or Aussie/kiwi hi fi

Australia is a big country. If you go to Melbourne, you could audition Greg Osborn's stuff, if you contact him as noted. You could also audition Aspen Amplifiers, if you contact Hugh. See his circle on Audiocircle for further info. If you want to just go to a shop, try Audiophile in North Fitzroy, as they make their own stuff. Most Aussie audio shops just have imported gear.

I have the osborne epitome mk3,and I dont think I can live without them.The only other speaker I would have,at this stage is the 802 nautilus,they would look superb in my lounge.Bob from NZ.

If you are going down under you should listen to Duntech Sovereign and also Osborn Grand Monument..both are huge and great speakers..Osborn uses Focal drivers..(the ones used in Wilson Audio speakers)
Osborn is manufactured in Melbourne by Greg Osborn..He is a friendly person..you can contact him by e-mail..and Duntech is manufactured in Adelaide..

The Osborn speakers are horrid to my ears, cannot comment on the Krix. Part of the problem is that the average okker is a rocker, and the market is not large enough to support high end speaker manufacture. But the West Islanders (Ozzies to you) make some very good valve amps (cottage-industry stuff, but excellent sound), and I must admit I have heard some of their speakers sound quite good. Please note, it is quite difficult for West Islanders to speak kindly of North and South Islanders and vice versa.

There are no Kiwi speakers worthy of the high end, size of market dictates against it, but there are several brands of preamp and power amp worth looking at. Apart from the obvious Plinius and Perreaux (the Plinius is very cheap in NZ, not so the Perreaux), there are some interesting valve amps from names you will not hear anywhere else, such as Lewett and Ecofan, but these are cottage-industry stuff.

If you are pre-disposed to wanting some form of warranty, I would look at the considerable bargain that Plinius is in NZ. There is also a thread somewhere here called 'Preamp Deal Of The Century' about a West Island preamp that many say is a world beater - the Supratek Syrah.