Has anyone compared the Nola Viper IIa's..

Your response is quite helpful. I'm a little disappointed with Nola (Alon). Their newer products don't seem to capture the same magic of the music as the older products (Alon I's, II's, IV's and V's), unless you go up much higher in the range with the corresponding cost. Its a shame because I've long been a fan. The old products just had so much more value.

Again, thanks for your thoughts. Looks like I may have to consider a used pair of the Viper references. My other choice of speaker are the Focal 1027be's. I'll need to do some A&B auditioning if I can find a shop which carries both speakers.

I have purchased the IIA's since starting this thread, and while I do still believe that the References are in a different class, by no means do I frown upon the performance of the IIA's, especially when you consider that I paid less than $2,000 for them on Audiogon. With proper system matching and eventual upgrading as suggested by Musicman, you may not ever want to part with them.