I took the plunge and scored a pair of Leica binoculars, the Leica Duovid 8x42-12x42. Now I know what it's like to look through some world class glass and think "holy smokes, what have I been missing!"
Neat in that they can be shifted from 8x to 12x in a second, without losing focus. Image is sharp from edge to edge, brightness like you wouldn't believe.
Only complaint is about their weight- they're heavy.