Vienna Acoustics Strauss Beautiful Rosewood Finish--Amazing musicality

These gorgeous Rosewood Vienna Acoustics Strauss sound just as amazing now as they did 10 years ago. A few small scratches (and color difference on the wood that's been under the grill cloth-- which of course is not seen). Rosewood was the an upgrade finish for the speakers--This is a beautiful piece of furniture that sounds even better.

The Strauss has a 3-way crossover. A 1-inch silk-dome tweeter using a unique multiple-magnet system handles the high frequencies. Its three center-drilled neodymium magnets guide internal sound waves into a special damping chamber that drastically reduces upper-frequency compression effects and the amplitude of the tweeter's natural resonant frequencies.
The midrange and bass drivers are made of air-dried paper reinforced with carbon fiber to increase rigidity and internal damping. The two midrange drivers share a complementary crossover: The upper driver handles the entire midrange, while the lower one rolls off its upper-frequency output to concentrate on the lower midrange. The claimed benefits of this arrangement include superior power handling and better imaging: The upper-midrange frequencies, which supply critical imaging and locational cues, are produced by the smaller radiating area of a single driver. The lower-midrange frequencies deliver most of the dynamic energy, and they come from the combined radiating areas of two drivers, thus increasing the Strauss's power-handling capabilities.
The Strauss's woofer begins operation at around 70Hz, which is low enough to free the lower-midrange driver from having a crossover point in critically audible frequencies. According to VA's specifications, the woofer extends down to 26Hz. The woofer is on the side of the cabinet, allowing the Strauss to be set up with its woofer firing toward the room's center or outside walls. Such flexibility in placement makes it possible to achieve better room optimization.

Here is how Sound and Vision described their amazing sound:

Every speaker falls to one side or the other of perfect neutrality. Harmonically, the Vienna Acoustics system was on the warm side, not because of an excess of lower-midrange energy or a lack of high-frequency extension, but because of its innate musicality.

The Vienna Acoustics' midrange presentation commanded my attention. Even at very low volumes, human voices, saxophones, and guitars had a presence that was strikingly lifelike. In the real world, microdynamics and subtle volume changes give music delicacy and nuance, and these subtle differences came through the VA system without corruption or homogenization.

Along with their microdynamic abilities, the Vienna Acoustics could deliver big crescendos. Loud passages sounded as loud as they can and do in real life. No, bomb blasts didn't clock in at 130dB—most soundtracks use judicious amounts of compression and limiting to spare us excessive aural assault—but on my own uncompressed recordings, the VAs produced SPLs that matched what I measured in the hall during the recordings. They handled a full symphony orchestra's fff passages without a whimper, losing no definition during these sonic onslaughts.

Vienna Acoustics Strauss
3-way front speaker in bass-reflex cabinet dome tweeter with 3 neodymium magnets; two 7" carbon-fiber–filled, air-dried, paper-cone midranges; 11" carbon-fiber–filled, air-dried paper-cone woofers
Frequency response: 27Hz–30kHz
Sensitivity: 90dB
Impedance: 4ohms nominal
Recommended power: 50–400W RMS
Finishes: beech, gloss black; rosewood, add $600/pair
Dimensions: 45.7" x 7.7" x 16.7" (HxWxD, without base)
Weight: 120 lbs

Also have 4 rear/side matching (Waltz) "surround speakers" if you are interested.

Condition of fair is super conservative. there are small scratches, but nothing that is noticeable as a piece of furniture (i.e., without getting close and looking).

Unfortunately don't have original boxes, so I prefer local pick up--I am willing to ship via a shipping company that specializes in fragile items (e.g., http://www.uship.com/profile/milkandhoneyshipping/), I believe this is a superior (less likely to incur damage) solution for large items like this (versus custom boxes and shipping via common carriers like UPS/FedEx)