I've also temporarily downgraded my speakers this year.
I sent my Fostex F200A drivers to Bud Purvine to receive EnABLe treatments. I had originally contacted him last spring but he was busy with his real job (he owns Onetics). Then I started making system changes and wanted to be able to A/B those changes so I held off. Finally got in contact with him again and sent the drivers off early November. These are the first fully broken in pair he's worked with so he's taking his time, listening before proceeding. He also suffered a head cold in the mean time which further delayed things. I'll do a review after I get them back (which should be soon).
The plus side is that I've brought in my other speakers to fill in at the mancave. They frankly don't get much use and the systems they're in are inferior.
The first pair came from the living room stereo system, a pair of Fried A6's that made a short splash on AA when the leftovers from a company close out were sold cheap ($300/pair, MSRP $1,100). They are average sized 2-ways that utilize a aperiodic cabinet design that according to Irving Fried is supposed to be a cheaper/simpler version of mass loaded transmission line. Fried had departed from the company before these were made and it shows. They are cheaply built, but provide a pleasant enough, full, non-fatiguing (low resolution) sound. Putting them in the mancave room/system didn't help them much.
The other pair came from the family room HT system (front left/right speakers), a pair of Ascend Acoustics CBM-170's (the original design from the company). They cost $328/pair (internet direct) and are small/squarish 2-way standmounts. I've always liked them as the money went into the guts, obviously not the extremely cheap vinyl skin. They image like champs and really turn disjointed black and white cartoons that so many mainline speakers produce into fully fleshed out coherent color paintings with texture. After some re-break in they really have started to shine in the mancave room/system.
Matching $300 speakers in a $1,700 front end, etc. is not the way I would go, but it has given insight into what these old dogs can really sound like.
