Executive System like JVC EX-A1

I was in an audio store recently and heard an executive system that sounded surprisingly good: it was the JVC EX-A1. It has a price to match, I think $550 list. It's the one with wooden speaker enclosures and also wooden diaphram in the speaker, very unusual. While most small systems sound, to my ear, pretty unpleasant, this one sounded very articulate and clean, even a little warm.

I'm wondering if anyone has extensive experience with this unit, or has found a similar sized executive system that they are very impressed with in terms of audio quality?

Thanks,
Art