I tried them out at a dealer yesterday and I was impressed. They are simply awesome. I listened to them immediately after a pair that cost more than 3x the price and was shocked at how little drop-off in clarity there was.

The proprietor advised that if $400-500 is your price range then he recommends them unhesitatingly, and I can't disagree. No bamboo color in the US though, only brown and black.

The Monitor Audio M2 is a much better deal.  The M2 was previously known as the Bronze B2, 2 generations back from the current BX2.