Swarovski CL - big step down from the EL ?

[gorky]

I want another set of binos - something a bit smaller than the Swaro ELs. The CLs seem to be smaller, aluminum body instead of Mg, and the lens quality appears not quite as high as the ELs. Is the $1k price tag still warranted ? I am thinking about a set of 10x32 ELs but I think those are still a big bigger and heavier than the CLs. I really would prefer these binos be as light as possible without getting into the compacts.