I listened to the O2 out of the McAlister with the MSB Platinum as the source. That setup was good. Damn good to my ears. And the O2 just melted away like it usually does for me when I hear it. Smooth and sweet. But I wanted to also hear some rock as I have always just heard jazz and classical. The only (sort of) rock the owner had was Joe Satriani, and while I'm not a huge fan, it was definitely engaging. But I still would like to try just to see if they can rock out. Can they?
I tried to answer that question myself by listening to the O2 out of the Cary (and I think it was a SRM-007t amp) and it sounded dreadful; the worst I have heard it sound. Now mind you, I was listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn on a really poorly recorded CD, but it was the worst experience I have had with the O2. Maybe the Cary was spooked or something, though, because I just didn't like a lot of what I heard through it. Could be the old tin ears as well.
Overall assessment, I very much want the O2, but I hope to put some rock through them at CanJam.