Hi Chaka
Apparently with the 3s they also benefit from being in a bookshelf, bookcase where they use the passive resonance of bouncing back from the books to make them sound amazing
I haven't used my 3s as Front Left and Front Right with the 19 as a music source, just the 3s as rear channels before changing over to the 18s. A lot of people sing the praises of the 3s but as i have had them as rears i thought they were so so - maybe it was my settings and also that there isn't much happening at the rear (in terms of sound).
A friend here in my home town says that perhaps i should use my 3s with an 11 (i don't have an 11) as a stand alone music system and i would just love them. So perhaps he's right . And if he is, then the 3s with the 2 would be the same / better.
I have often thought that the 3s with a 2, is just the same as 2 9s.
It's like for me, in my (feeble) mind, that 2 9s with a 2 or a 19, is exactly the same as 2 5s.
So in answer to your title, I think they are the same sonically. To me, 2 3s with a 2 is the same as 2 9s :-)
