jond,
I am surprised to hear that, maybe something was amiss with your sample? I have always liked the way their products are 'voiced'. I find them more to the sweet/rich side which I enjoy. Even their lower end solid state amps of the late 80's early 90's sounded pretty good.
Personally I thought the Premiere 5 mono blocks were superb. Wonderful balance and not bass heavy like my KSA 50 or the ML2's I once had.
N.
