Depends on the kind of music. Early Temptations stuff sounds Terrible. 101 Eastbound by fourplay is off the hook.Never too busy by Kenny Latimore is another on that pumps very well in the X. But deep booming bass that you hear from passing cars you will never get from 2- 6 inch subs. Digital recordings also sound much better. IMHO the iPod dosn't help improve the signal path either which is why I kept the CD Changer. Experiment with different music and you may find a vast difference in mastering, an art that seems to have fallen on death ears. In my personal experience I prefer not having that booming bass and have found that the X5 does indeed render some recordings with excellent clarity. But again as I mentioned IMHO it really depends on the recording. Here's a good example of what I mean.http://tinyurl.com/3jak

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….