Whatever floats your boat is the right answer. I do however like the Youtube video that Vandersteen puts out showing the pistonic nature of their Carbon Fiber cones/drivers they hand build in Cali. The planers and ribbons can not recreate that and neither can the paper cones in the video (They are from a very expensive, high end brand speaker).
To me, accuracy is so important as are measurements when they design these speakers. a great designer can and often will design a speaker on measurements and know what it will sound like. Then they will listen and tweek accordingly. They will listen to various materials and some take the cheap route and tweek an off the shelve driver or use an exotic material for sound, but much of the time for marketing. I didn't listen to Vandersteen's until they started to use carbon fiber technology and to my ear it's made the most significant difference in speaker sound when utilized correctly, than an material I've heard in over 30 years or so.
For those who haven't heard the model 7's or 5's you really should take your favorite recordings and go listen. I did and ended up switching speakers a few years ago. There are still many speakers out there that I like, but none that I love like the Vandersteen's. Getting value at the higher end is rare and I do appreciate that also, but it's still all about the sound.
Implementation, as I said before is KEY....hard to argue that.
To me, accuracy is so important as are measurements when they design these speakers. a great designer can and often will design a speaker on measurements and know what it will sound like. Then they will listen and tweek accordingly. They will listen to various materials and some take the cheap route and tweek an off the shelve driver or use an exotic material for sound, but much of the time for marketing. I didn't listen to Vandersteen's until they started to use carbon fiber technology and to my ear it's made the most significant difference in speaker sound when utilized correctly, than an material I've heard in over 30 years or so.
For those who haven't heard the model 7's or 5's you really should take your favorite recordings and go listen. I did and ended up switching speakers a few years ago. There are still many speakers out there that I like, but none that I love like the Vandersteen's. Getting value at the higher end is rare and I do appreciate that also, but it's still all about the sound.
Implementation, as I said before is KEY....hard to argue that.