"The Ultra High-End Speaker."

If "ultra high end" is defined, even in part, by price, the Revel speakers do not qualify.  But, if it is performance, as measured by the owner satisfaction, it is entirely possible for that speaker, or one even less costly to qualify.  Even taking subjectivity out of the equation, there is no such thing as a best speaker that is superior in all aspects of performance, and not everyone agrees on which aspects have higher priority.  Add back subjectivity and there is nothing close to a consensus on ANY speaker being "good" sounding, never mind anything close to "best" sounding.  On top of this, there is no speaker that is appropriate to all rooms.  I personally find that low-powered tube amplifiers tend to be the best sounding amplifiers, and I have very specific favorite amps; that necessitates using certain types of speakers that then relegate others to less that ultra high end for my personal selection.

I've heard ultra expensive custom speakers that sound fantastic.  One such system was about 5 ft wide, by 4 feet deep by 8.5 feet tall.  It has twin 18" woofers, a giant horn midrange with field coil midrange compression drivers and a field coil tweeter.  Truly no expense was spared.  But, even it could not do everything, and the "compromises" might disqualify this speaker for another listener.  The woofers were quite restricted in output below about 35 hz.  Why? Because the requirement of ultra fast and nimble performance to match the midrange compression driver and the extended range for the shallow crossover at 400 hz or so, meant the driver had to be built with ultra low weight cones, and a surround that restricted the range of movement.  This meant compromising ultra deep response. 

In other respects, I suspect that great subjective performance in one area necessarily means affecting performance in another area; for example, the sense of midrange clarity might be a product, at least in part, of a leaner upper bass response because that bass tends to "muddy" the sound, but, if one also likes the warmer sound of a richer upper bass response, one cannot "optimize" both.  Hence, ultra high end might minimize compromises, but, it cannot eliminate them and the right balance could be found in a speaker that is cheaper, better suited to one's taste, and more appropriate for the particular room.

It does my heart good to hear about someone who really enjoys having exquisite sound. Congrats on your system. Too many high rollers haven’t really earned their audio stripes, and are more adept at writing big checks than they are at identifying the true performers. To some degree it’s all relative to what we’ve been exposed to, but those who’ve owned and lived with that "ultra high end sound" truly know the difference.  It still boils down to synergy of the individual components.

My experience has been that price is not a guarantee of fantastic sound, and there are definitely diminishing returns, but it’s difficult to avoid incurring some substantial costs to get that upper level sound. Fortunately, there are still plenty of companies driven by their passion for audio who focus more on performance than profit.

@erik_squires  +1

Since retirement I have had to be very selective with my finances and my audio purchases. Even within those parameters and with full knowledge that my system is midfi at best, I still find myself sitting in the dark, glass of wine in hand and completely lost in the music.

Isn't that the essence of why we do this?

Good review of the Salon 2: https://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/608revel/index.html

And, they're on sale at a great price via Music Direct!
$7500 each 
https://www.musicdirect.com/equipment/speakers/revel-salon2-tower-speakers-pair/

It did not boil down to the synergy which is only the basic starting factor requirement here ...

To attain ultra high end sound you need an acoustic room and a dedicated one for specific speakers ... Ask Delavigne what role play his room in his sound quality experience snd say to him that he throw his money out of the window with his room , all we need is the higher price tag and synergy between components .........😁

To some degree it’s all relative to what we’ve been exposed to, but those who’ve owned and lived with that "ultra high end sound" truly know the difference. It still boils down to synergy of the individual components.