Speakers which always sound good

What you are describing is Vandersteen’s. All you have to do is break down the numbers. Length of time the design has held up, number of speakers sold and number still being sold. A speaker Company that will fit any budget. They will work with room treatments and still sound good without. Even have a bookshelf or spouse friendly option.

I auditioned the Harbeth Super HL 5+ 40th Anniversary Model speakers with 7 different high end integrated amps. I thought they sounded outstanding with every amp I tried. Just for the record the 7 amps that were auditioned included the Pass Labs int 60, Luxman 509x, Simaudio 700i, Naim Supernait 3, VAC 170i, Gryphon D300, and Hegel H390. IMHO, the Harbeths are extremely versatile and seem to have a very high "symbiosis quotient". I know there are very few speakers that sound great with every speaker. In fact, I’m not sure there is such a speaker. But, to my ears, the Harbeths sounded superb with all 7 of the integrated amps I auditioned.

Of all the amps, my ears preferred the Pass Labs int 60...that day and hour, that is. I ended up with the Harbeth Super HL 5+ 40th Anniversary Model speakers for my system. However, wanting something where I’d never have to worry about transient peaks, yet keep the "Pass Labs sonic personality" that I love so much, I purchased the Pass Labs int 250 to go with the Harbeths. And I probably would have been just as satisfied with the Pass Labs int 60. But I couldn’t be happier. For a little extra magic "pixie dust" I’m running the Pass Labs int 250 and Harbeth speakers through a dual power supply MSB Discrete DAC. Sonic heaven.

Anyway, I obviously love the Harbeths. But there are so many speakers I haven’t auditioned. Some may sound different. Some may even sound better. I may never know for sure since it would require a lot of national and international travel to audition them all. But since I put all my money into my system I won’t be doing any extensive traveling for a good long time. So I’ll just have to be contented with what I have. No problem there whatsoever. Sorry this was so long. My 2 cents.

LARSEN! Either the 6, the 8, or best, the 9 (the 8 sounds as good, I’m told, but the 9 is prettier). They put up a wall of sound that is unique, can go against the wall (preferred), and are very much like live music. In a living room, they fill the room because the sweet spot is almost everywhere. They require less room treatment because of the orientation of the mid/tweeter firing up and towards each other (reflections are less a problem).

I want a pair for the LR to go with my Vandersteens for the listening room.

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/larsen-model-9-loudspeaker/

$75,000 in PERMITS

That's highway robbery!
@richopp - yeah I totally see your logic, that's a lot of dough to give away.
You could build a soundproof shed (if you have enough land) and fit it out as a dedicated listening... oh wait.. the permit for that would be insane too, right?

@asvjerry - The master bedroom is what my wife and I agreed upon (15' x 24'). Funny thing about it is that she says she doesn't want to be typically American and have a TV in the bedroom, she's Belarusian, I'm Australian living in Texas. We were in a great AV & HIFI shop and she gave me the nod on a projector, just not a TV (well... she was nuts enough to fall in love with me).

She loves our townhouse, the neighbors don't complain (core filled cinder block walls all the way up to the roof) and a two car garage of the neighbor backs onto our master. I'd love to build something that could be a multi room for great audio/video, and Latin dancing.

The so called "open floor plans" are the bane of an audiophile's existence. Got to love the clanking dishes and pots banging on the stove. Erik, I believe you live in CA, the open floor plan capital of the world. Try to find a house with an upstairs "bonus room".

I do now and i love them, but I'm moving to South Carolina this year for cost saving reasons.  I have to say the alternative to open floor plans is basically a packed shoe box.  Really hard to let go of this.