One of my friends is looking into buying a decent pair of speakers so I took him to a local dealer to audition speakers around $5K range. We listened to the following:

SF Liuto Tower
VA Beethoven Baby Grand

The store has a touch panel computer that you can use to switch between different speakers instantly. We first listened to the Liuto Tower, then 2 minutes into the music, the salesperson switched to VA BBG. To everyone's surprise, we didn't notice it when he switched the speakers. Even the salesperson had to walk up to the speakers to make sure they are switched! Now, if you listen REALLY carefully the Liuto Tower has more defined highs, but boy, they sound incredibly similar.

Except for the price, of course So if you really like the Liuto Tower, look at the VA BBG as well. You may be able to save some money.

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Sonus faber Elipsa, Minima Amator, Concertino Domus, McIntosh C2300, MC275Vx2

There is also a review in the February issue of Hi Fi News on the Liuto.

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AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

Thanks for the references and recommendations. I'll see if I can audition the VA speakers here in Bangkok or in Seoul when I return there later this month. Being a teacher, saving money is often on my mind

Thanks!