I have several giant killers: Vandersteen 2CE Signature speakers, Magnepan 1.6QR speakers, Adcom GFP-750 preamp, VTL IT and ST-85 tube amps, Nordost Blue cables, Sony XA7ES CD player. The Magnepan 1.6QR is the first serious competition to the 2CE in the 1500 price range. It is a very different speaker in that it has tremendous detail and soundstaging at the expense of bass, room placement, and amplifier compatibility. I just got another adcom preamp; In passive mode with high quality cables it is almost indiscernable from my XA7ES's variable outputs. It might sound better.
