What's your speaker IQ, and the best speaker?

The Best speaker for the money in my book is the Rushmores by
Pass Labs. I should know, I have a pair sitting in my living room!

Forgive me Jebsmith73, but you're post is missing the very information that makes this thread interesting: What other speakers have you had the experience of hearing that helped lead to your conclusion that the Rushmores are the best for the money??

Looking forward to your reply.

Ok, well here I go showing you all what a low IQ I have...

Celestion DL10 - 1st speaker to show me what I was missing from consumer stereo crap.

Kef C40 - Purchased soon after hearing the DL10's - my first love, though maybe not as lovely as the DL-10s.

Yamaha NS10m - a staple in my business (recording), and great for obtaining mixes that translate well the speaker world over, but quite boxy and mid-fi sounding.

D.A.S. Monitor 8 - Some phenomenal voicing - great for cellos and a lot of other instruments, beating many other speakers, but a confused upper bass and not much depth.

Celestion DL4 - eh

Krix Equinox - Imaging, depth, quickness - a fun, fun bookshelf - will probably never sell.

Rogers Studio 1a - the first speaker to ever make my jaw drop to the floor. Taught me what "holographic imaging" meant. Some flaws with cabinet resonances and perfect bass definition, but a very special speaker with that Rogers magic.

Quad 12L - Doesn't have the weight and authority of the Rogers, but still has weight, and great imaging and depth. A wonderful speaker in it's class and price range. Compared to Krix, I would give the nod to the Quads for classical music and to the Krix for rock. The Quads are a tad more polite, the Krix a bit more forward.

Quad ESL989 - I'm sorry, I just don't get it. Though I heard a lot of great things in them at a dealer's showroom, there just wasn't enough detail or quickness or forwardness for me. Maybe I'm just not an electrostatic kinda guy, maybe they weren't set up well...

ATC SCM20SL - My current love, though I still own most of the previous listed speakers. Best defined bass of the lot, best midrange. Great imaging, great voicing (though the D.A.S. still has it beat on cello, and possibly the Rogers too). The SCM20's are great at defining instruments, their timbre, their placement, and overall tonal/harmonic balance. But they are not the master of depth or holographic imaging, though they hint at it. However, they are at present the best speaker I have heard. What they do well overcomes what they do not do perfectly.

All of these speakers have taught me what is possible, and I can pretty well extrapolate from them what can be achieved on the hi-hi end, like some of the previously mentioned speakers in the other posts. Like any self-respecting audio-phool, I of course have a healthy case of lust for most of them, and plan on working my way up the food chain and owning or auditioning most of them over the next bunch of years.

Thanks again all for your posts, please keep 'em coming.

Speakers that I have heard and am Familliar with:

* B&W Nautilus 800 & 802 - My first hi-end experience. Goes for an "impressive" sound - good dynamics, but very hifi - sound gets fatiguing over time. Tweeter is bright and detached.

* Bottlehead Straight 8 - very pleasant, cheap, inexpensive line array (not available any more)

* Maggie 3.6 - Very smooth, this speaker could be it for some people - but does not play rock well (harsh on rock). Great on classical and jazz

* Quad 988 - Best speaker I've heard on classical because of world class transparency. But - Only recommended for classical-only listeners. Not dynamic or forward enough for rock or live jazz

* Kharma Exquisites - heard with megabuk (100k+ total) equipment in a poor room - was not impressed. propably the fault of the room

* Dynaudio S1.4 - I own these right now, they are great but they are very particular with setup. They need juice, they need a well damped room, and they need a big room and lots of space even though they are standmounts. Very dynamic and lively and neutral (not fatiguing) when setup right

* Von Schweikert VR1 - Great monitor at 1k. Warm side of neutral, nothing "wrong" with them

* Insignia - High-end sound for $50. I brought them on my recent cruise vacation with a $100 receiver and I'd wager I had the best stereo that anyone has ever brought to their cruise room cabin.

I could go on for ever I guess... martin logans, various wilsons (including alexandrias), avalon diamonds, Dyn special 25s, Verital Parsifals, Klipsch KLF 20s, Aerial 20Ts, DIY Horns, 47 Labs lens, Quad 22L, god knows what else...

...but to cut to the chase, the most I'VE ever "connected" with music through a system was via the Wilson MAXXs. The big Wilson's 'breathe' like real music. Dynamic as hell - will play any sort of music with commanding authority. I agree with the previous poster that the WP misses out on vital midrange in exchange for explosive dynamics - but I feel the MAXXs have it all.

Apogee centaur, psb a/b, infinty 300, magnapan 1.2, sound dynamics 300ti, merlin vsm owned these.
mbl's 101 116 121, jm labs diva, piegas c10, magico mini, dynaudio c4, kharma, avantgarde duo,
My favorite still is mbl's.