Thank you for the kind words!
The X-Statik's do sound somewhat vastly different. These speakers produce a larger, more life sized image of instruments and vocals than any of my other speakers, including the Martin Logan's! There's zero coloration also, I mean none at all. Even the ML's had some coloration that they added. There's a certain immediacy, dynamic "snappiness" that these speakers do that no other I have can. It just makes them sound more "you are there". They allow you to hear through all of the layers of the music... All of the micro dynamics, all of the macro dynamics, all of the minute details in the background and foreground. They're like a microscope for sound. These are the only speakers that I have ever had that accurately reproduce the sound and size of a live piano as well with the right amount of body and bite. You can also clearly make out different pianos and how they are positioned in the recording.
Believe it or not, the Genesis II's come closest to sounding like these X-Statik's. The II's do just about the same in all respects, but they fall behind just a little when it comes to the dynamic swings (micro & macro), the color free naturalness, and the size and position thing with the pianos. The Genesis II's come awfully close to the X-Statik's, but there are differences, and the X-Statik's nudge ahead of them.
On the top end, both the X-Statik's and II's are near equals. The 1" soft fabric dome tweeter of the X-Statik and the 1" phenolic/linen inverted dome tweeter of the Genesis II are both excellent. Very sweet, smooth, detailed, airy and extended.
Surprisingly, the NHT's and definitely the Martin Logan's don't stand a chance. Neither are nowhere near as detailed, especially when it comes to those micro/macro dynamics, neither are are lively or snappy, and oddly enough, the ML's are just too colored sounding.
And keep this in mind when I'm talking about what speakers do better...
When new prices...
Genesis II - $400
X-Statik - $1100
NHT 2.9 - $2500
Martin Logan SL3 - $3500
As you can see, higher prices don't always tell the whole story. Then again, the bone stock X-Statik's were known to compete with speakers costing upwards of $5000 in reviews, which says a lot. Danny Richie hit the ball out of the park when he designed and voiced these speakers! And considering mine have all of the upgrade options that Danny suggests, even more so!