The American thanksgiving sale has me tempted. I have wanted a pair of the 170SE for a while now. They really impressed me, the chance I did get to listen to them and have been thinking they would be a perfect fit in a small/medium sized room. They nailed a critical aspect of loudspeaker reproduction which many speakers fail miserably and that is the ability to convey natural speech/vocals on a wide variety of recordings. This is a huge compliment! I wasn't really surprised since I was aware of the family of curves published by Ascend and confirmed by many other 3rd parties which is quite impressive in its own right. I am interested in a pair to use as mains and also using a single 170SE in its natural vertical orientation as a centre channel.

For the Canadians that frequent this message board what have your experiences been with brokerage/duty fees on your orders and the preferred courier for international orders. In the past UPS has hit me hard with brokerage fees even with packages sent from relatives within the US so I try to avoid them. Just curious what others have experienced.

Happy Holidays!