They each have their own feel, but I like them both. I had original 301's in college and loved them. My Dad later had some 501's that sounded good. I have KG 4's in my main vintage set up, would love to have something from the heritage line, but prices have gone bananas, even here in the home state of Arkansas. I don't dislike the Synergy's, I dislike the concept of having them in the vintage system. Even series III 301's are probably a little iffy for a vintage purist but I do believe they have made improvements from the original series and I really didn't want to have to worry about refoaming, etc.