Best Floorstander Under 10K?

Dodgealum...I agree with you regarding the need for a distinctive finish, and yes, that's what the folks at Focus were going for with the gloss. :-D Anyways...yes, I am in the NYC area, in NJ about 10 minutes north of the GWB (I'm a home-based dealer, and I used to be in NYC - thus the "PhilNYC" ID - but family matters required a move to the 'burbs...). Shoot me an email at phil@sonicspirits.com if you want to set up an appointment to come out. If you're in the city and need transportation, I can probably help with that too (although not in today's snowstorm! :-)

Just for the record - I don't understand how you could find the Parsifal unmusical Dodgealum - unless it was not run in when its upper mids are pinched and recessed. I find my Fidelios quite un-hifi, much less so than my Merlin VSMs or my Thiel 2.4s - much more like my friends Sonus Faber Guarnieris than any other speaker I have had. But I don't doubt that is what you heard.

Dodgealum...so it turns out that Focus *can* make the FS-888 (or any other Signature Series speaker) in a satin wood finish (instead of the gloss). It does take a longer lead-time (2-3 months), but it does not cost any extra. Note that the gloss finish does act as a cabinet damper, so the satin wood finish will sound a little softer than ones with the gloss finish. However, according to the folks at Focus, some people actually prefer the sound!

Most readily available for wood choices are the birds-eye maple and rosewood finishes that they make for the Focus Classic Series (see www.focusaudio.com to see what those look like).

Lrsky is now registered as a commercial user.
Again, my excitement in mentioning LSA was both premature, AND uncalled for, since I was not yet commercial.
Sorry for any misrepresentation on my part.

As to the best speaker under 10K one issue haunting the audio industry today, is the lack of products under 10K which are really worthy--hence the consumer flight to the used marketplace. They are seeking quality, but unable (perhaps unwilling) to pay the prices of some products.
One thing I taught sales people in my seminars which is on point here, is the formula for purchasing, which, in a fit of maybe Cabernet I came up with. Which is: M+M@VP=S, which when translated means, "money plus motivation at the moment of value perception equals a sale. It seems that more and more, the flight to used gear shows that more people feel that value is gained in the used market.
After working the sales floor of my own store for 11 years, then traveling the country, I saw many people swallow hard at the pricing of some of the loudspeakers.
At least places like Audiogon allow for the resale, at a bargain price of loudspeakers, so the first owner can upgrade, and the second owner can buy 'better' perceived product.
IMHO

It would be interesting, perhaps astounding, to know a mfrs'. costs of drivers, x'overs and cabinets for some respected high end speakers in the, say, $20-40K/pair range. I realize there's more than component costs involved.

Which mfrs. have the highest markup from factory to distributor?