The Worst Speaker you have ever heard.

B&Ws in general which are to me the equivalent of boys band and Britney Spears: only marketing.

The most overrated speakers in my opinion is the Wilson stuff. I never understood why so many rave about them. To me they sound dry, almost dead, unbalanced and unnatural. I've heard WP7 and 8, Sophia 1 and 2. Sophia 2 is by far the best of them to my ears but I still wouldn't call it good. Heard 'em at shows, in homes, in shops, with very good gear. Most disappointing was the WP8 at a big show, partnered with top of the line Krell Evolution stuff, Nordost Valhalla all over the place, in a somewhat acoustically treated room, playing high resolution recordings by Peter McGrath of Wilson Audio.. That was terrible! Lots of people found that impressive, I don't know.. Perhaps I'm crazy. :)

Of course there are many worse speakers, I'm just tagging along on the "most overrated.." discussion. I'm sure one could dig up some 60s junk that would be unbelievably bad. :)

Mrtennis, you state:

the worst panel speaker is better than the best cone speaker

All depends what ones personal preference is for a sonic signature. Every different speaker design has its strength and weaknesses.

I won't pan a specific speaker,but the speakers I consider over rated are the ones with bloated bass,designed to appeal to people who listen to them for five minutes in a retail setting.

My second choice is any tenured professor,who is going through the motions,who makes it obvious that he or she would rather be any place else than reading a fifty minute lecture to undergraduates.

A few years ago I heard a pair of B&W 802N with a correspondingly awful Krell amplifer.

Chalk on a chalkboard was more pleasant and less fatigueing.