Simply put, for the serious audiophile with a system that matches the potential of the McIntosh XRT 24, these are just delightful speakers. They run rings around the "usual suspects" sold for $10,000 plus. That should not be a surprise because they cost close to $10K new; and really fine parts and construction like this have become far more costly in 2011 than they were in the mid 1990s.

Each XRT 24 has sixteen tweeters, 1 six inch mid and 2 long throw, rear firing subs. The subs are perfectly integrated so they are absolutely seamless in music. They are not boomy, sloppy or harsh. The mids are spotless in their presentation. The tweeters are beautifully balanced, but they will make a low quality recording sound - ummmm - like it's low quality. The cabinets, especially in walnut, are nothing short of spectacular visually. And with the rocketing appeal of vintage gear, the XRT 24's combined use of beautifully crafted cabinetry and lovely hardwoods is more desirable than ever. The same speakers when new were also available in black.

For limitless flexibility, these speakers are bi-ampable and tri-ampable and bi-wirable and tri-wirable. They also are a perfect match for the ultimate in old school room correction systems like the MQ 107 or 109b; and of course they'd work beautifully with the newer room correction system from McIntosh too. These room acoustics systems are especially nice additions if you have difficult room acoustics and/or suboptimal speaker placement requirements. I prefer the MQ107 because it has 8 separate room correction dials for each speaker -- nice for example if like me you have to put one speaker too close to a wall.

Unfortunately, the XRT 24s are becoming quite hard to find. At AudioClassics, their speaker expert said the last pair they had for sale (before the ones they just sold) came into their store about 10 years ago. That's a 10 year span without any being traded in - a rare find.

The XRT 24s handle 1000 watts each, so don't take your 30 watt tube amps and assume they'll be good with these speakers. To achieve that smooth, perfectly balanced base, mid, treble, I estimate from watching my meters that you will want at least 200WPC of really clean power. I have a 400 WPC McIntosh amp at my office where these speakers live, and that is just great. I have plenty of head room.

Audiophile speaker preferences at this level are a very personal choice. For my tastes, I love the XRT 24s.