I have had the Piega C-8ltd in my "system" for three hours. Bright? Yes...for the first twenty minutes, or so. Then, glorious music! And this result from my 13-year old compents: Classé DR-8, Sony ESD 608 cdp (direct to amp), and ancient MIT ics and speaker wire. The sound is involving: detailed, non-fatiguing, with the widest and deepest soundstage I've heard (some instruments on Radiohead's "Amnesiac" seemingly came from the next room). Santana I displayed mid-bass conga/drum interplay I hadn't before heard; after a few selections, I had a new appreciation for the tonalities of Master Carlos's axe.
Even Kathleen Battles' mega-million selling Mozart cd (ddd---sheesh!) sounded----ethereal.
I can't wait to get my Pass Labs stuff (coming any day!) hooked up to my Audio Note CD3.1 to hear what happens next. It's scary if the Piegas get much better. Oh, btw, I had them erroneously wired up to the topmost pair of speaker connectors; they should sound even better next time...(For all those who heard the Piegas and thought them too detailed...give 'em another chance. I don't know what the heck was the problem, but you're doing yourself some audio harm by snubbing 'em. I've owned Merlin VSM-SE batt/bam, ML Sequel II and CLS, Verity Fidelios (most recently); auditioned for many minutes Revel, JM Lab, Avalon: for my money, they didn't "do" it: even with very nice listening rooms with sophisticated sound treatment, mega-buck electronics and wires).