Wilson Audio Sabrina . . . I'm smitten. Should I consider others?

@prof This is where it gets a bit complicated.

There is a reason you (and many audiophiles) are drawn to this (colored) type of sound; it has a lot to do with how we perceive loudness (see ’Fletcher–Munson’ curves). To compensate for the dynamic limitation of any hi-fi system, many loudspeakers are designed with a certain “boost” factor. It can be a port that makes the bass output more efficient than the rest of the frqs, or in case of the Devore or the Lowther type, the midrange. These can be very entertaining on some recording, but devastating on others. By essentially EQing the sound, you trick the mind to think it is real. The problem is that by doing so, you not only EQing and permanently change the nature of the recorded signal, you also decrease the dynamic range of the speakers (think “Loudness” button on an old Japanese receiver). There is a real price to pay for any of these artificial “excitements”. For instance; if you have a boosted bass, due to the way we perceive loudness (again, see Fletcher–Munson curve), as you increase the volume, the level of boost changes. I am sure you notice that on loud volume, ported systems linearity and resolution diminish (or maybe you didn’t ☹). Not to mention the increase of distortions, non-linearity, spectrum compression, group-delay and many other ill factors I don’t think you will want to be bothered with. Unlike real music, where a specific “boost” ONLY belong to certain instruments or sound "events" (kick drum, trumpet, etc.), in a loudspeaker, the contamination is across the board. It may work on a kick drum but will be a disaster on a human voice (and Piano and basically most acoustic instruments).

Of course, to some, this is what makes it fun, and finding the “right” ancillaries to work with these abnormalities is the essence of our hobby. But, whatever the results may be, ultimately, you are stuck with a very limited, and problematic, outcome. To many this is fine, and like I keep saying, IT IS FINE. BUT, to some, these deficiencies are detrimental to the joy of music listening.

If a speaker measures perfectly flat, as my engineer (non-audiophile) uncle argues with me to this day, it is technically perfect and the best design, period.  I'd bet dollars to doughnuts if most of us heard a ruler flat measuring speaker in our rooms it would sound, um, not good.  There are just too many variables other than measured "neutrality" that affect the sound we ultimately hear in our rooms and with our equipment -- and with our own ears.  In the end, it comes down to personal preferences and interactions with our own rooms and equipment (and music).  So to say it's black and white and one approach is right or wrong is just counterproductive given all the other variables involved.  The OP gives every indication with his words that the Sabrinas sound very "right" to him.  At that point, who really gives a damn how it measures?  They sound "right" to him, and that's ALL that matters.  IMHO. 

BTW, to the OP, two of my three personal favorite speakers are Vandersteen and Joseph Audio (the third being ProAc), but I've never been able to hear them back to back at a dealer, so personally I'd LOVE to hear your impressions of the Quatros versus the Perspectives.  And I think taking a trip to hear the Sabrinas again after hearing those two, presumably with the same music, is a genius move.  I have no doubt that hearing these three speakers will be extremely insightful and result in you making a very confident and "right" decision for YOU.  Really looking forward to what you hear. 

Measuring "perfectly flat" means absolutely nothing. Measuring evenly, relatively linear and smooth ON, and smooth fall-off OFF axis is critical for good performance (some prefer a slight gentle, smooth slop down, 2-3 dB on-axis from 20Hz to 20KHz). Some of the speakers in question here have severe deviation from that.

I've heard most DeVores, and they're all great sounding things with proper gear of course...however, they seem fairly expensive for what they do and are made out of, but people who own 'em swear by them...especially the low powered tube amp crowd (the amps, not the crowd). I'm low powered tuber (the tube amp, not me as I'm real powerful...medicare pays for my gym membership), and get real good (in fact, astonishingly good) sound from Klipsch Heresy IIIs, a relative bargain. Stereophile's Ken Micallef really likes his DeVores and uses them as a reference for reviewing things, but recently provided a nice review of the Heresy IIIs. Horn loaded 99db your sneakers away.

"Measuring "perfectly flat" means absolutely nothing. Measuring evenly, relatively linear and smooth ON, and smooth fall-off OFF axis is critical for good performance (some prefer a slight gentle, smooth slop down, 2-3 dB on-axis from 20Hz to 20KHz). Some of the speakers in question here have severe deviation from that."

@sciencecop -- so, according to your calculations, speakers that deviate from soft 2-3 dB deviation don't sound good?   Can you back this up with any real-world assessments or measurements?