Wow! I just reviewed several pages of this thread. What is most striking to me is that almost no speaker is named by more than one person as "the best". (I think the OP back in 2001 wanted to hear about the best speaker one has ever heard, not one's own best speaker.) Some brand names do recur, but different products from that manufacturer are cited. I think only Coincident Pure Reference and Quad 57 are named by more than one contributor. This says to me that each of us is in love with his own thoughtfully arrived at opinion, which is cool.
I am a lifelong lover of ESL speakers and have had most of the major brands since the early 1970s. Right now I own a pair of Sound Lab 845PXs that I modified. I enjoy them very much, but they are not perfect. No speaker is. Other "best" speakers I have ever heard: double pair of KLH9 ESLs, double pair of Quad 57, Coincident Pure Reference Extreme, Beveridge 2SW, Rockport (don't recall the model name). Could live happily with any of them.
I am a lifelong lover of ESL speakers and have had most of the major brands since the early 1970s. Right now I own a pair of Sound Lab 845PXs that I modified. I enjoy them very much, but they are not perfect. No speaker is. Other "best" speakers I have ever heard: double pair of KLH9 ESLs, double pair of Quad 57, Coincident Pure Reference Extreme, Beveridge 2SW, Rockport (don't recall the model name). Could live happily with any of them.