The best speaker you ever heard?

Well, previously it was the old, three box version of the Audio Physic Caldera, with about $7,000 of electronics feeding them. Those retailed for around $20,000, but were available for "only" $10,000. I'd have bought them on the spot, had I been in a position to do so. I would have to say that the speakers I currently own, for ~5K with the stands, rival--and probably surpass--the Calderas, which is a REAL surprise. Duane sold me a pair of Intuitive Design Summits, which I decided to buy just about a year (or less) after having JUST upgraded my speakers. My wife was appalled, but we agreed that this would be my last major audio purchase for a "long time". That will be no problem whatsoever, as these have completely blown away even my most ridiculously unreasonable expectations, and will almost certainly be the last speakers I ever buy, and I am in my early 40's! All this at the real world (for an audiophile anyway) price of about $5000. I plan a review soon, but have just a wee bit more tweaking to do, and am hoping to be able to do justice to these utterly fabulous masterpieces.

p.s. Thanks, Duane!

Mdhoover, This hobby is still lots of fun.

The Stax F-81 is the best speaker I ever heard. What did they sound like? Think about their best headphone systems, only better! They were the least-colored transducers I've ever heard. Unfortunately, they were completely unstable, and kept buzzing and crackling throughout the demonstration. At the time I was shopping for speakers (around 20 years ago), they were also incredibly expensive at $3300.

The best dynamic speakers I've ever heard? Wildly different choices: the KEF 105.2 and the Klipsch Cornwalls. The 105's threw a huge and realistic soundstage around six feet in front of the speakers, and the Cornwalls, blasted a symphony orchestra at real-life levels without a hint of strain or running out of gas--this with a 50-watt amp, as I recall it.

I haven't heard a lot of the speakers on the list, but I would like to cast my vote for my current speakers, the Audiophysic Avanti III. I have only had these speakers for two weeks and already they've bettered the best of the other speakers I've heard (including ATC100, Isobariks, ART Audio, B&W N801s, etc.).

What's more, they're a simply gorgeous speaker to look at, and far more balanced IMHO than the Virgo III. The sound I would categorise as incredibly nimble but dynamic, perfect timing, very very tight bass (though not as much as with some bigger speakers) and a very silky, extended top-end. Very much like a state-of-the-art mini-monitor but with bass to match.

I've never heard a pair of Avantgarde horns, however - my wife blackballed them out of hand on their appearance (not to mention cost) so that's one speaker that may well live up to the hype, but I am happy with my Avantis...