I would describe them as having a big sound to them,but I also feel they can capture the subtle nuances of music too,some people might say they are bright sounding,I feel you get out of them what you put in.I was using a yamaha rxv2500 which some say is a bright reciever before I got my 990, and it sounded great.I might be a little bias, as I have owned klipsch for over 25 years.