Sirspeedy, I have heard them many, many times, as my local dealer has a pair he features prominently.
First, I must say that I am a big fan of Osborne. Terrific sounding speakers. If I had I to describe the house sound, I would say warm, big, and powerful. That goes for even the smallest ones.
The other thing is that the Focal driver complement goes a long way towards determining their sound. If they have the Ti metallic dome, and the Grand Monuments used to have that tweeter, they're like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. The newer iterations use the Focal Audiom tweeter, and things sound far better. I'm also a fan of the Osbornes running the Focal Kevlar tweeter for what it's worth.
Whether the Grand Monuments are for you is a question of how much you like or dislike big speakers, and they are, obviously, BIG. If you love big, powerful, loud music, they're as good a choice as any. And, in relation to most, though I was blown away by their pricetag the first time I saw them, they actually look WAAAAAY cheap today. If you value traits like soundstaging, nuance, and low level resolution, these aren't your best speaker. Not that they fall down badly in any of these areas, because they don't. Just that some folks like Mazda Miatas and some like Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s.
First, I must say that I am a big fan of Osborne. Terrific sounding speakers. If I had I to describe the house sound, I would say warm, big, and powerful. That goes for even the smallest ones.
The other thing is that the Focal driver complement goes a long way towards determining their sound. If they have the Ti metallic dome, and the Grand Monuments used to have that tweeter, they're like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. The newer iterations use the Focal Audiom tweeter, and things sound far better. I'm also a fan of the Osbornes running the Focal Kevlar tweeter for what it's worth.
Whether the Grand Monuments are for you is a question of how much you like or dislike big speakers, and they are, obviously, BIG. If you love big, powerful, loud music, they're as good a choice as any. And, in relation to most, though I was blown away by their pricetag the first time I saw them, they actually look WAAAAAY cheap today. If you value traits like soundstaging, nuance, and low level resolution, these aren't your best speaker. Not that they fall down badly in any of these areas, because they don't. Just that some folks like Mazda Miatas and some like Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s.