well, of the brands mentioned, there are none that sound bad, or look like they are built by the guy who flys the plane in those 'mad max' movies, but assuming 'state-of-the-art' is just that, my 'quirky' comment stands. and yes, the insides of some do qualify as comical. i would howeverjaybo consider the osborn or duntech loudspeaker lines as state-of-the-art.