ampman, that's a shame the HB1s didn't work out for you. I use mine with A60, Rega, Denon bits and bobs, and hard against the wall (which I wish was more solid). What series were your speakers?
As an aside, I found mine edgy and dipping in the midrange some months ago after a relocation and put the Diamonds in the system. The HB1s had always sounded good so I'd put the problem down to the new room. Just the other day I had a "try something simple" idea and bought some stranded wire to replace the thin solid core internal wiring to the tweeters. I performed the operation today. And lo, when I opened up the second speaker, verily did I see how one of the tweeter wires had broken near the crossover. So I can't be sure if the new wiring has improved things or not, but the speakers do sound very much better.