Did I Expect too much?

Manufacturers look for the cheapest parts that get them the sound they are looking to achieve.  That is a reasonable approach.  Any other part that alters the sound could be improving the sound or making it worse from the prospective of the buyer--it depends on personal taste and system matching.  Even if one part seems to be better to the manufacturer, the  manufacturer has to consider whether it is worth putting in a more expensive part that MAY improve the sound, but not necessarily so.  I know a custom speaker builder who often builds with ultra expensive parts and wire who has, after listening to the build, substituted in much cheaper wire that was better for the particular voicing he and the customer wanted. 

This custom builder also makes custom tube amps.  Some of his most expensive builds employ very ugly and very cheap looking binding posts made of thin brass and having plastic nuts for screwing down the lugs.  They are not really cheap because these are vintage parts, but in their day, they were cheap.  He has customers insist on the posts being replaced by the like of WBT solid silver posts because they are, and they look, expensive.  The dealer prefers the sound of the brass binding posts in his amps.

I don't think there are parts that are universally better or best, it is a matter of particular implementation and personal taste. 

Please tell us a bit about the sound of the Charney speakers you have.  I have only heard their Companion model (with Voxativ and AER drivers) and liked the sound very much. 

I liked the Charney Companion speaker I heard with the AER BD3 driver.  This is a very lively sounding system with a surprisingly rich sound, not the sort of lean and mean sound one use to hear in single driver systems, and the top end was reasonably smooth and extended.  I am betting you will like your speakers a lot after break in.  I heard both Companion speakers (one had the AER driver, the other had a Voxativ) driven by single ended 300B amps.  The combination worked very well.  The little bit of extra lower midrange and upper bass that 300B amps typically provide would help most single driver systems.

Working with custom builders is a good way to get just what you want from your amp, including the choice of premium parts.  As for your speakers, there is really not much you can do for DIY upgrade of a speaker without a crossover, except to change wire and binding post as you have done.  How about going completely nuts and putting a BD5 in your speaker? 

I never heard s BD 5; I was kidding about that upgrade.  I have heard some pretty wild drivers, such as the equally expensive Voxativ fieldcoil full range driver.  I also heard a system with fiekd coil woofers and midrange drivers and a field coil tweeter that cost $60,000 a pair.  I could not afford the power supply for these drivers, never mind the drivers.

Simonmoon, 

The OP has  single-driver fullrange system; there is no crossover.  I’ve heard the slightly larger version of the OP’s speaker and it is the first single-driver system that I really liked a lot.  Since then, I’ve heard a few more great sounding single-driver systems, like the ones made by Songer Audio.

It seems that some people think the binding post makes the speaker.  I don't see how anyone can claim you got ripped off just on the basis of the quality of the binding post, particularly when it hasn't even been established that the binding posts were inappropriate for the model of speaker.  The Charney speakers I head were screaming bargains based entirely on what I heard, not based on slim evidence that they used a few cheap parts.  I will not fault the post recommending a Tekton speaker because I think they are pretty good for their price too, but, someone who likes the immediate, lively and engaging sound of Charney speakers has not been ripped off.  If you can improve them by customizing certain parts selections, have at it.  Almost all speakers can be improved by making them fit one's personal system and taste--change wiring to the speaker and inside the speaker, change footers, etc.  But, it is NOT the case that more expensive, popular parts will always be better--I know a custom builder who can almost instantly spot the use of Mundorf capacitors in speakers and amps; he hates them almost with a passion.