rustplane, I think we spoke earlier by email. I did not see so many Yamaha reviews as you have. However, I will say that the reason the Yamaha sounds so intriguing to me is that the Paradigm Persona 5F demo was such a home-run to me. The BE tweeter and mid sound so good together. Better than the Magico A3. I was all set to by the Magico before room dimensions and the Persona came into the picture. The 3 drivers being of the same material and the material being lighter than BE may make me buy the Yamaha without an audition. That is why I am rambling here, to see if I convince myself to pull the trigger without an audition.
I do believe the Magico is backordered due to demand. Most people have a much higher valuation of Magico over the Paradigm, though if you heard the 2 speakers blindfolded I have a feeling I know which one most people would pick.
I am trying to get some family to do a demo on my behalf. They are a little busy now but my dad could do this in April when he gets back to Canada from his winter stay. The store that has the Yamaha also has the Persona on demo.
The Acoustic Lens has something to do with Phase.
Interesting, in Munich they played right next door to the A3 on the first day. Although I was not blown away by the A3 (I would take the S1 over it any day), the Persona were just terrible. Perhaps I need to hear them again.