I didn't hear about the BL1s, but remember the MX as it was sent to his dad in Bradford (about 7 miles or so from me).

Seriously though, I had the Pentas sent from Sweden, and an Avant sent from Cambridge (not as far) in the original shipping crates and they arrived completely unscathed. Hope you have some luck soon though - I've hankered after a pair for a while, but have always ended up wanting to keep my amp + passive speaker set up. Lab 1s do butter my sprouts though with their height. Ooo err.

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I had a pair of BL1s in dark green for about four years, flanking a green Avant, with green BL6000s bringing up the rear. I was never very keen about the sound of the BL1s; they were a bit antiseptic in the treble and very bass-deficient, although adding a BL2 subwoofer did help a good deal. I must confess I preferred the overall sound quality of the Penta IIs that preceeded the BL1s.

I eventually sold off the BL1s privately to finance the purchase of a pair of BL5s when they first came out. My dealer provided me with replacement shipping cartons, and I packed them up and shipped them off to their new owner in Canada. The sound of the BL5s was a vast improvement over the BL1s, although I have never really cared much for their appearance - a Danish friend refers to them as my samurai warriors. I much preferred the appearance of my BL1s, however, and still miss having them in my sitting room as the stunning pieces of metal sculpture that they were.

I also sold the Avant, much as I loved it, because the picture was just too small at my normal viewing distance, replacing it with a BS1 and a plasma screen. I still have the BL6000s, however, which do yeoman service as rear speakers in my bedroom system. I really loved that all-green system when I had it, however. It made a striking focal point in my contemporary home with all-white walls.