My daily drivers were various incantations of VOTs for maybe 30 years. Towards the end of that time, I started trying numerous "mid fi" speakers. None had the LF smoothness, many had lower frequency extension, but -- most noticably -- many were less strident. The upshot is that I didn't like the metal horns; perhaps they were somehow ringing, although I did use some with dampening material applied.
I heard Heresy and sometimes La Scala models here and there, and thought they had a salient signature. They have a unique "shoutyness" -- the midrange seems clipped or compressed, or somehow distorted. I can't put my finger on the technical problem I hear, but something audible is definitely going on.
Maybe it's the try-something-new bug in me, but I'd recommend you give the La Scalas a try.