When I was in retail we used SBL's as our day-to day speakers and I've set them up loads of times and listened to them for many, many hours (all of this was with Chrome and Olive Naim gear, but also amps from other manufacturers). They aren't really bright in the way Dave's description suggests but they certainly can sound a bit hard and edgy. The bass is quick and dry sounding but the problem with the treble is more where the mid and the tweeter meet. It helps if you have a very well behaved source and smooth sounding amplification may help (though not so much in the bass perhaps). What I did find, in my view anyway, was that NacA5 speaker cable was a step too far and result could be very hard and 'clangy'. When partnered sympathetically they can sound quite remarkable - really good rhythm and expression. They can sound bloody awful too . Oh, they also seem quite room variable which you don't really know until you install them.