Ever discover cheapo speakers actually sound...

I haven't. There's always something out of balance and higher levels of distotion. But you've learned how cheapo equipment can fool our ears into thinking, short term, or on some types of music at low levels, that it sounds pretty good. Many makers depend on this phenomenon, usually by incorporating a mid-bass boost and a mid-treble peak. Listen more carefully, put on some of your more challenging music, and you'll realize that the cheapo system can't live up to it.

I would make an analogy to playing a poor quality recording on a very high quality system. As my system evolved over the years, my initial expectation was that the improvements in the system would make poor recordings sound worse, by reproducing them more accurately. But to my surprise I found that nearly every recording sounded better. I think the reason was that just about every recording gets something right, for instance, part of the mid-range, and my attention would be sub-consciously drawn to what was right about the recording, because it was SO right, and would not focus on what was wrong.

Probably the same kind of thing happens when a high quality system and recording is fed into poor speakers. The speakers manage to get some part of the spectrum right, and that is what captures our attention.

Regards,
-- Al

Thanks for the inputs.
When I first turned on the inexpensive jbl's, they sounded horrible, but after some time improved tremendously?
Did they need break in, or is my hearing adapting to the new sound, I know they don't compare to my main speakers: merlin. But they sound better than they should for the price point.
Of course my system is way up there in the source and amp areas, but I am quite surprised.
Can anyone explain why at first they sounded bad and then later on much better?

By the way, though I may be critical at times, I am the type of person that likes to enjoy things and make the best of life. When I visit friend's homes I don't have thoughts of how terrible their systems are in comparison to my system. I always see the positive, and I honestly enjoy the sound coming out of their setup. I am fully aware of the deficiencies, but I choose to focus on the highlights. Could that be happening with my temorary speakers, could I be ignoring the negatives.
The merlins are leaps and bounds better, an a/b test would reveal that dramatically, but I find my aural registering perception adapting to the new sound. Maybe I am lucky.
In the end I still know what I like and that is the omni directional sound you get with mbl, it is for me the most thrilling experience.

The short answer is yes.

Most even decent speakers that fit a room properly will sound good with good equipment upstream. The deciding factor can easily become more one of personal taste.