I listened to the Giya02 through Mac C50 and MC601, the same amp setup I have at home. The CD player was a Mac501 because the dealer did not have an Esoteric like in my home setup. I then listened through an MA6800 (I believe) integrated amp and there was a sudden, noticeable harshness in the higher frequencies. If I hadn't heard the C50/MC601 setup first, I could have been tempted to blame the speakers. In this case however it was clear that the MA6800 was the source. Not a mediocre amp by any standard, but it's just that the Giya's are a bit unforgiving and exposing. So in my case the source caused the harshness, not the speakers.
My dealer was not jumping for joy to transport the speakers to my home, exactly for the reasons you mentioned, and I can understand that because they are extremely heavy, in huge crates, the paint work is delicate, and it takes quite a while set them up. I have to say that the dealer did his utmost to accommodate my audition wishes in store.
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