Thanks everyone.......
Boa2 - You hit the nail on the head with your comment that box speakers "sound too sequestered with respect to conveying the sparkle and energy of the event." That's what I'm looking for, the sparkle and energy of the event. Nearly all of the conventional speakers I've ever listened to lack that sparkle and energy. Nearly all of them are reticent.
My VR-4's, for example, would reproduce the crack of a stick against the rim of a snare drum in a way that sounded like a pillow was in between the microphone and the drum. The representation was there, but that sparkle and engergy (CRACK!) was missing. A plucked bass hung out in space forever, so things sounded sloooow. Bass drums were rendered with a "poof" instead of a solid "punch," and drum solos lacked that crisp, leading edge attack. They sounded this way in the showroom, and in 3 different environments with varying amplification, so it was a character of the speaker itself.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but I wonder if speaker designers are afraid to depart from that typical "audiophile" expectation of sound. That "warm" or "lush" presentation. Over the years, I've heard many, many speakers, that while voiced differently, had an overall laid back presentation. I don't mean to sound degrading, but my $30 PC speakers image like champs, so perhaps I'm trying to get "outside the box" (no pun intended).
I agree with your list of speakers that won't satisfy me. When I sold my VR-4's, I fell out of my chair when I saw just how many companies are now building conventional, multi-driver systems. How much can you really do with this design, aside from distinctive voicing?
I seem to gravitate towards two speaker designs, horn and planar. I loved my Logans and Magnepans, but they lacked punch and dynamics. I loved my Altec 19's, but they were far from being refined. I guess I'm looking for something that might not exist, so I'll have to take some time and determine just what compromises I'm willing to make.
