Oh, incidentally, I never really mentioned how they sound. The II's are quite tight sounding and have fairly strong pinpoint imaging, although not the most open sounding speaker in the world (although much better than most competitors of the day and still no slouch now).
The 2.5i was quite a bit more open sounding than the II, with its metal tweeter and more accurate midbass driver. The 2.5i's bass went lower, as stated earlier, but was more rounded and less accurate. I remedied this to some degree by making foam plugs that fit into the ports in the back. by adjusting the tightness of the plugs , I could adjust the bass fairly well for my purposes.
Both speakers image quite well and can provide a powerful, striking soundstage (not in the realm of 'spooky realistic', but quite good nonetheless).
With the right gear in the right room properly set up, either pairs of these speakers have potential to do very well.
(btw - the II's are to be used in a smaller room than the 2.5's. I had my 2.5i's in a room that was approx 10x15 or so and they were too much speaker. The II's probably would have been more at home in a room that size)
The 2.5i was quite a bit more open sounding than the II, with its metal tweeter and more accurate midbass driver. The 2.5i's bass went lower, as stated earlier, but was more rounded and less accurate. I remedied this to some degree by making foam plugs that fit into the ports in the back. by adjusting the tightness of the plugs , I could adjust the bass fairly well for my purposes.
Both speakers image quite well and can provide a powerful, striking soundstage (not in the realm of 'spooky realistic', but quite good nonetheless).
With the right gear in the right room properly set up, either pairs of these speakers have potential to do very well.
(btw - the II's are to be used in a smaller room than the 2.5's. I had my 2.5i's in a room that was approx 10x15 or so and they were too much speaker. The II's probably would have been more at home in a room that size)