Yes I agree. But elacs seem more natural sounding and less hearing fatigue for me. Everyone is different so i guess metas dont suit me. So far i am not impressed at first look. Need a few more listening sessions to decide. But it be great if Amir gets a hand on a pair.
You're right that everyone is different, and because of that, better measurements are no guarantee of individual listener preference.
For me, I've only ever had one new speaker that I preferred over the speaker it was replacing on first listen. I enjoyed the Genelec 8030c over the Revel M105 right away for some reason, but every other major speaker purchase I've made has been disappointing on first listen.
Most disappointing was my first foray into the $1,000+ speaker land. When I first replaced my Infinity Beta 50/20 system with JTR 210s, I played Enya's "May it be" which had a special meaning to me, as it was the first and only song I could listen to for the first few months I had the Infinities
. My immediate reaction was disappointment, as even with all the expectation bias, I liked the Infinities more. I spent the next few months listening to music on the JTRs at club levels that the Infinities couldn't handle(to justify the purchase in my mind
). At some point, I decided to revisit the comparison, and this time, the results were completely opposite. I now preferred the JTRs, and by a large margin, at all volumes. The JTRs were so much clearer and imaged way better. Nothing in the speakers or room changed in that time frame. Only thing that changed was my brain.
My latest purchase (Genelec 8351b) first listen went similarly. When I first replaced my left/right JTR 212RT with the Genelecs, I still preferred the JTRs. My brain missed the clarity and precision of the JTRs. This time, though, I was more prepared, I expected this, and I was confident it was only temporary.
It seems not everyone's brain works this way(I've seen other people say they know right away if they like a speaker or not), but it is the way my brain seems to work. I get used to particular tonality and dispersion pattern, and I don't like speakers that differ from that.