I heard them with a all tube set up,all British units.....if your using the orginial AE1's as a comparison the MKIII goes way deeper and tighter than the legendary Phil Jones monitors but it also conveys a slightly more colder foot print compared to the originals,width and depth is just as detailed as the AE1's but its much more aligned compared to the orginials which sometimes has a tendency to wander abit.Speed and upper registries was the same,didnt hear any extra micro dynamics with the MKIII,both convey speed and control like a good pair of ESL...excellent bloom around passenges with a very dynamic magically midrange...does it sound better than the orginial AE1?...yes but only controlling the lower cycles and keeping the orginial magically midrange and focus..would I spend $5000cdn for a pair..no..would I buy the orginial AE1 and mate them with superior tubes amps..absolutely...thats my opinion...