Really expensive systems that sounded great?

@kenjit Interesting comment about box speakers.  I have no idea what you are referring to as I have not seen it.  I can tell you that we did "informal" research in my shop back in the mid 1970's.  I carried a number of lines of goods--speakers included. 

SO, what we did was, we brought our instruments to the shop--no, not HP oscilloscopes, etc., but guitars and horns and so forth.  MUSICAL instruments.  Then, we hooked up pretty much every combo in the store over a few months (after hours) and listened to these systems with various sources--back then we had reel-to-reel decks, cassettes, turntables, and FM radio, of course.

After much testing and discussion, we did learn that pretty much every box speaker--regardless of the cost--changed the sound of the music.  Some slightly--Fulton 100's, and some dramatically--Bose 901's and Advent's (my college fav) and RTR and AR, and Marantz (yes, they made speakers for a while) and B&O and, well you get the idea.  

What we learned was that if you wanted to reproduce the VERY PRODUCED AND PROCESSED recorded music closest to the original, box speakers were not that good.  We did use the Sheffield direct-to-disc vinyl and 15 ips 3rd gen tapes as well as popular normal vinyl.

Today, box speaker manufacturers have solved many of the "coloration" issues that they had in the past.  Boxes are more accurate today, and while I have not heard the latest Wilson, et al boxes, I can state that what we found was that ARC HW and Magneplaner speakers were about the most accurate systems at that time.

I ALWAYS sold the customer what he or she wanted and liked, but that does not mean I changed my mind.  I recently re-hooked-up my old system after moving and put on Diamonds and Rust.  Mitchell was in the room with me, and my Maggies were made in 1974.  I don't doubt that boxes have improved, but I do doubt that they sound as good as modern Maggies with quality tube HW.

When you own a business, you have to make a profit, so we sold the best stuff available at the time, and it was a wide variety of stuff.  BUT, I would be surprised if any modern stuff exceeded even the newest ARC-Maggie pairing today.  Doesn't mean I am close-minded.  I know what we heard back then and what I just heard on my system, and I would enjoy hearing the latest and greatest stuff.  Possibly there are superbly accurate box speakers out there today.  Funny, though, that after the 1970's almost all the "great" box manufacturers went to the 6'tall form factor.  I wonder where they got THAT idea...

Cheers!

My wife and I heard the finest, most engrossing music reproduction system which involved Von Schweikert Ultra 11 (and Ultra 9 later) speakers in a $1 million to $1.5 million system.  Nationally, maybe two or three dozen reviewers were astonished and also considered this speaker and it's set-up as the finest they have heard or one of them.  I've heard several 100 $100,000+ systems and most were huge disappointments.  Some were very good indeed but not at this level (using my own LPs and CD).  Out of my price range though although someday I will purchase one of their lower cost speakers, new or used (best for my custom listening room would be the Ultra 7).  

@fleschler 

I've heard several 100 $100,000+ systems and most were huge disappointments.

If you have to spend $100K on a music reproduction system you are almost guaranteed to be disappointed. The law of diminishing returns kicks in hard.

If you got $100K to spend on a stereo want to know how to guarantee it will be worth it CLICK HERE,

I’ll take this $100K system all day, every day:

Mercedes-Benz’s implementation of Atmos looks to go even further, with a whopping 31 speakers scattered around the car (a list that includes six 3D speakers above passengers, four “near-ear” speakers for the two front seats, and an 18.5-liter subwoofer). Each seat also features two hidden exciters apiece (for a total of eight in the car), and everything is powered by two amplifiers with a total of 1,750 watts of power.

To start, Mercedes is offering Atmos in its top-of-the-line Maybach model, followed later by its S-Class cars featuring its new MBUX infotainment system. Unfortunately, given the price of both the Mercedes Maybach and S-Class cars, having the hardware to get the full Atmos experience won’t be cheap.

The entry-level S-Class vehicle, a 2021 S 500 4Matic sedan, starts at $110,850, and the Burmester 4D surround sound add-on that’s necessary for Atmos is an additional $6,730. Customers of the top-of-the-line Maybach model won’t have to worry, though — the upgraded sound system is already included in the base $185,950 price tag.

Now THAT is a system, talk about a Vehicle baby: