When was the first time that you heard great sounding speakers?

Arnie Nudell and his Servo Statik 1 at CES.

That's easy! Linaeum Model 10 at Corner Audio in Portland back around 1993. Joe had them with some integrated tube amp, ashamed to say I never noted the name, because it was the best I heard. The sound was so good that as we were leaving my wife asked if we could buy them!  

Probably 25 years ago or so, at a high-end shop I checked out while I was visiting Nashville.  They had a Wilson WATT/Puppy/WHOW setup, driven by Audio Research tube gear.

They also had some Vandersteen 2Ce's.  I don't remember what was driving those.  It may have been Jadis.  I remember looking at Jadis equipment (the Defy line, I believe, at the time).  I just don't remember if that's what was hooked up to the Vandy's.

I heard why the Wilsons were considered better.  But I liked the Vandy's more.

First off, I have to say I've always preferred tone quality and imaging over ear-bleed treble and kick-me-in-the-guts bass.  In any case, I've been gobsmacked several times during the decades of my audio-nut existence. AR-3's and then Tannoys in the 1960's.  Magnaplaners had me enthralled at the store...until I deigned to move my head a fraction of an inch to tell the salesman how good they were.  Quads killed me with their imaging and string tone but they made the Maggies seem omni-directional.  No bass, either.  Gobsmacking led to a purchase when I bought a pair of KEF Corellis.  String tone!  The Corellis' penchant for blowing tweeters, though, eventually got me to purchase a set of Celestion SL-600's. Yes, I killed a couple of those tweeters, too, but the imaging and cleanliness of the sound kept 'em around for a dozen years.  Now I'm just some dumb old audiophile, loving the heck out of my NOLA Boxers.