I can't really address your concern about the treble with poor recordings, but the Imagine T3 is a significant upgrade from the Synchrony Ones in all respects. The T3s have a quality that just 'sounds right'; the speakers themselves seem to disappear and you immediately know that they are really something special once you hear them. The bass is better than the Synchrony Ones as well, extending effortlessly down into what is normally considered subwoofer territory. And yes, you can tune the bass by using provided plugs in some of the ports, and you can also short the lower pair of inputs so that the bottom woofer acts like an active bass trap if desired to tune the bass in difficult rooms. Of course everyone has different preferences in loudspeakers, so I would suggest that you check them out at a dealer to see if they're the right speaker for you.