Price Paid:  $1500.00 from second hand

Summary:
I bought these speakers used, after doing some investigation on the web. I was looking for a speaker that might be paired to a tube amp in the future, and that had great cosmetics (i found a pair off the amazing piano-black version). Positive reviews in magazines and on this site helped me make my choice.
I Do not own a tube amp yet. My current amp is a vintage Luxman 309 from the 70's (OK but nothing special) and the source is a Njoe tjoeb 4000 tubed cd player. The result i get from this combo is of a very high quality. Almost everything positive stated in the reviews here and elsewhere is true. Also the fact that the speaker tends to reveal weaknesses in the sources. I initially used a very basic 15 year-old Sony player to drive the luxman-deCapo combo and did not understand what all the fuss was about. They sounded cold, edgy, and clean in a negative way, and the lower frequencies were just not there (the type off remarks often heard about the deCapo's). After upgrading to the Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CD player the DeCapo's showed all the virtues so often discribed before. I am amazed that my system even though i have not upgraded my amp to the same level as the cd-player and speakers yet , can already/almost compete with very exclusive systems i've heared before.

Strengths:
English is not my native language so i'll make it simple: I agree with all the things mentioned in all the other positive reviews here, and in other places before, it is truly a remarkable speaker.

Weaknesses:
They're only weakness is that they are monitors. The lower frequencies produced by the DeCapo's are of a high quality, there is however, just like with every other monitor no extension below 40 hz.
They will make you long for a powered sub in the long run. It will have to be a verry expensive one to be in the same leaque as the deCapo's. It can be matched succesfully to high end Rel and Velodyne subs i understand. But by that time the total price tag might be as high as high quality floor standers. The advantage is however (and that is why i bought them) that you can buy the sub(s) when you have the money.

Price Paid:  $2100.00 from archive audio columb

Summary:
Note: this is a re-written review after I pulled my old one. After upgrading the turntable and amplification, I went looking for speakers. I found these at Archive Audio in Columbus, Ohio, and I was very impressed. Big image, precise mids and highs, tight bass. Did I mention big image? These speakers are fast and detailed and really wonderful. They are strong down to 40 Hz and still have some output at 31 Hz. Music seems to come from the entire wall behind the speakers, it's just remarkable. High efficiency lets you use lower power tube amps that won't cost you the mortgage. I listen to mostly rock and jazz, but i'm warming to more classical now with these speakers. All those instruments, and you can listen to every single one. Unless you need explosion bass, these will do everything. My system: Reference 3A MM de Capo-i Anthem Amp 1 (40 Wpc) Anthem Pre 2L Music Hall MMF-5 Creek OBH-8 Harmon Kardon FL8400 CD changer

Strengths:
Soundstage/Image size Speed Accuracy Suprisingly good bass Details in midrange and highs No fatique (I listen all day sometimes) 93 dB efficiency - Great with lower power tube amps Cool looking

Weaknesses:
Odd finish choices that may not pair with your other equipment or furniture may cause lower WSF(wife satisfaction factor)

Similar Products Used:
Owned: Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble II, older Bose speakers Auditioned: Theil CS1.6, B&W Nautilus 805, Revel Performa M20, Joseph Audio RM7si Signature Mk2, JM Lab Cobalt 816, Magneplanar MG 1.6, V

Price Paid:  $1850.00 from AUDIOGON

Summary:
I've had these speaks for a while. They are not the "i" version. Who cares. I used them with an ASL 1003 DT amp and Rotel 971 modified CDP. I also had an audience power cord and analysis plus solo crystal oval ICs, and HT speaker cables. I had these on their custom stands, sand-filled in a medium size room. These speakers are the most transparent speaks I've ever heard. They sound as good as your source and associated equipment, but you don't need a 5k cdp for these to sound good. My rotel cdp was a good solid cdp and my amp was quite capable for the money and the sound was gor-geous. If you have grade A equipment.... oh the joys that await you. I did have dynaudio speaks and a Krell amp before this and that combo was MILES behind the ref 3a/ASL combo. This sound is warmer, more vivid, lifelike in tonality and dimension, more dynamic, you name it. These speakers have the best bass you will EVER hear in a 2-way bookshelf. More than that, its bass trashed the bass of the other speakers (including the big 3 and 4-ways) I heard down to 38hz. The bass can have texture, slam, you name it. Try some Everything But the Girl. Try some DVD-video (DVD-audio even more) discs and realize what music really sounds like. The dynamics can go from whisper soft to blow-your-doors-off so fast it sounds like you're listening in real-time. I've been accused of having a subwoofer numerous times. Pair this speak with a good tubed preamp and tubed amp (doesn't have to powerful, these are 92 dB) and a quality source and stop looking. Listen instead. The other speakers I heard weren't bad, but I was yawning the whole time. I didn't know what my last speaker's weaknesses were until I heard this. There's a reason the hi-fi manufacturers are making hi-sensitivity speaks for use with lower powered amps - their customers are demanding it.

Strengths:
TRANSPARENCY. DYNAMICS (MACRO, MICRO) ARE YOU-ARE-THERE, Sensitivity, imaging, staging, BASS, Tonality, CLARITY, VOCALS, they can play LOUD, soft, delicate, driving, anything

Weaknesses:
I give up. sand filled stands help with bass impact

Similar Products Used:
Dynaudio's, B&W CDM 1NT, 604, etc., 2.5k Infinity Bookshelves, Polk, Meadowlark, Thiel, Silverline, Triangle's, some British monitors, Vienna Acoustics, JMRs, some big, boxy 3 and 4-way floorstanders

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Soundstage Fine Audi

Summary:
Got the latest version of De capo with the -i- extension, supposedly better bracing, binding posts, and the wood veneer finish is more benign and reserved. Better than the old "piano black" type finish. I never heard them before I bought them. I didn't like the B&W 804 that I auditioned, and couldn't justify driving over 200 miles to the nearest Revel dealer for the Performa M20. I also think that it is impossible to compare speakers among different dealers--upstream components and room acoustics are totally uncomparable. (I was also annoyed that nobody carries Conrad Johnson in Alberta.) So in the end, the textile tweeter dome, high sensitivity (-91 dB, carbon fiber (treated paper?) woofer, absence of cross-over, a feeble Canadian dollar, and a dealer I trust persuaded the purchase. My listening room is the living room that is kind of square (~16 ft wide) but extends (opens) to the kitchen and dinning areas, so there's a lot of open space (9' ceiling), but the walls & corners are a bit oddly shaped. The back wall is mainly windows, but got hybrid fabric blinds on them. My city is about 3000 ft above sea level. Components are Arcam FMJ CD23T, C-J PV14 line stage (single gain stage tubes), C-J MV60 amp (bought Mullard 12AX7 and Svetlana EL34s from Upscale Audio), Cardas Cross interconnects, Cardas Hexlink 5C speaker cables (at 16 ft long against all advices I got). Was at least 50 hours before the De Capo-i could be listened to. I suggest leaving the house during that time; the sound actually hurts your ears. Once burned in though, they sound very good. Most notably wide and tall soundstage (more like an arch), accurate timbre, details...details that, good or bad, really differentiate one recording from another. This is especially true of the bass - it sounds to me NO two recordings capture the bass (acoustic or electric)in the same way. For example, the bass from Norah Jones's albrum sounds quite bloated, actually a bit unpleasant, whereas Phil Collin's works are generally tight, rhythmic and musical. The drums (or whatever you call them) in Loreena McKinnon's album could make your heart flutter. Boyz II Men's Collection(esp. the song for mama!) gives that chest-heavy kind of bass that is powerful but warm. Sometimes I think I have a virtual subwoofer, but it's not always pleasant. Vocals are generally good. Renee Flamming, Cecilia Bartole sound positively heavenly, whereas Jennifer Warnes and Cassandra Wilson sound warm and rich. However, after ~200 hours of listening, I notice my ears suffer with female Pop vocals (e.g. Laura Pausini's latest English title, S Club 7). Perhaps these speakers are a bit unforgiving when it somes to secular recording/production. But certain piano recordings, esp. Jim Brickman's Yamaha (on recent HDCD -? title) seem painfully forward. I guess this latter problem reflects the peak between 600 and 800 Hz (see UHF's review of the De Capo, linked to the reference3A.com website). The peak is readily audible using the frequency tracks on the Stereophile's test CD. I think this may give the "detail" quality of these speakers (at least in that frequency range), but it's something you have to learn to live with. I wounld have gone for another speaker (e.g. Revel Performa M20, ? Joseph Audio RM7si) to avoid this peak, but only if all else remains equal! Having said that, there is no doubt the De Capo-i's are dynamic, musical, revealing speakers. Their physical presence pretty much disappears once the music is on. They seems quite capable (no, not superb) with complex orchestral music, but I can't expect too much from 2-way speakers. From all the other reviews below, they seem very good for the money.

Strengths:
Good value in Canadian dollar. High sensitivity Textile tweeter & (paper) driver No crossover Musical, incredible detail, differentiating base

Weaknesses:
Peak between 600-800 Hz. May take some getting used to. Unforgiving with some Pop/secular recordings.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $2100.00 from brooklyn audio

Summary:
The latest iteration of the DeCapos the "I" designation have been in my system for about one month and they are still breaking in but some characteristics are clear.These speakers radiate with a clarity that few floorstanders can match.It's two way design has I believe been pushed to its logical limits.Articulation of piano hammer strikes have the resonance of the real thing and vocals have a throaty weight that tricks you into a physical presence in your room.Extremely complicated pieces of orchestral nature are the only music it strains to unravel but given that its a two way design it more than makes up this lack in dynamic realism and timbral accuracy.It's been said often but bears repeating that you would need to spend thousands more to find a speaker that can do what the decapos do and reproduce the lower octaves without smearing the mids and highs.They love tubes, in my case the vtl tiny triodes and set folks will go nuts over the efficiency they have,92db.

Strengths:
Superior imaging,taught bass in sufficient quantity and quality,human voice and woody and metallic sounds reproduced with great realism.Easy to drive with hudreds of different amps.

Weaknesses:
Lowest octaves go missing but only if you cannot do without realistic pipe organ repertoire.On balance they have no lack and few competitors at the price point.

Similar Products Used:
vadersteen,spica,living voice,