I was considering them, but I have decided to keep it more sane and go for the IRS V. I actually listened to these speakers and they flat out blew away what I was able to do with my IRS Betas.
I drive my IRS Betas right now with Adcom GFA 565 monoblocks for the bass and Adcom GFA 5800 for the upper. I plan to upgrade my amps in the future, but right now, I am getting the last speakers for my system and my video projectors.
The person who had them was incredibly nice and was driving them with Spectral Amps and an Orcale CD player. There was no seperate D/A converter but rather it was using the analog out of the Oracle. I believe he has a spectral pre-amp as well, but I do not recall right now. His back up preamp is an Adcom GFP-750, which most consider to be top notch, so it should be a bit nicer than the Adcom. My recollection is he said they were 150 watt amps for the upper frequencies, which I thought sounded a bit low considering how loud it drove the speakers and still sounded clear as crystal.
I could never justify buying these things new and couldn't even pay half price, but if they were available for $30K, then I would sell my car, buy these and ride a bike to work. They were absolutely amazing. Plus, if you like the look of them, they are like a huge piece of art. Of course, a large sculpture doesn't look right in a small room, and these can easily look like Saturn V rocket boosters in a smaller living room, but they look and sound impressive.
Many people own a Mercedes/Jaguar/Rolls. An Acura would work just as well for getting you there, but not in style. Although most people don't buy the high end car, they understand or accept it much more readily. Same thing here. And these speakers do have a resale value, although you will take a hit as a first owner.
I just got off the phone. I bought the IRS V. I never regretted getting my Infinity Kappa 8, Kappa 9, IRS Betas or IRS Gammas. I seriously doubt that I will regret getting these, either.
Mike
