Do Physicists Or Musicians Design Better Speakers?

When are they ever in a position to judge what the music they are making sounds like to others who are not part of their group

The same could be said of non-musicians listening to music. Their preferences are unquestionably valid, but they are not going to have experienced listening to the music as a nuanced interplay in the same way that a musician does. First-hand experience changes one's perspective, so in the end the question becomes are you listening for fulfillment upon the design, musicality, or some combination of the two?

I would bet that no musician going into speaker building does so without scientific training as part of the process. So we're really only speaking here in theoretical absolutes.

The 'live event' is always determined by the recording engineer.

With the input of the musicians, and this person is usually a musician him/herself. My husband played professionally for over ten years. I've seen the process at work.

a lot of musicians have crap audiophile systems

And a lot of musicians have great systems. They just aren't mixing here. You can ask the manufacturers, however, and you'll find out that all of them have sold gear to some very famous players.

but I find a lot of musicians literally hear the note and focus more on the musical note (was that g or a flat) than the tonal qualities

If this were true, they could record an album on the first take, simply by following the recipe. It doesn't happen that way. As well, you're not accounting for the hundreds of albums produced and engineered by playing members of the band. From Donald Fagen to Bob Mould, from Neil Young to Frank Zappa, David Gilmour to Vinnie Paul, etc. ad infinitem, tonal quality and nuance are all they care about. Why do you think Stuart Copeland is so recognizable? Or Alex Lifeson? It has nothing to do with getting the notes right. An electronic tuner takes care of that. It's ALL about tonal quality and tonal signature, all of which are crucial in the final determination as to whether a recording is ready to be mixed, or a speaker is doing its job.

You cannot have one without the other, unless you only wish to appeal to non-musician audiophiles, most of whom would have no idea what recording studio playback sounds like.

Seas, best drivers in the world.
You won't see anyone contesting that fact.

Um...actually, you will. Some prefer Dynaudio, GPL, Morel, and others.

Morel? You gotta be joking, right?

Nope. The EgglestonWorks Andra II happens to be a damn fine speaker, and uses two Morel drivers, in fact.

We've owned (and heard) speakers with SEAS drivers. I find them to be less focused than the Dynaudio, but they have a warmth and roundedness that others don't. When it comes to preferences, there is NO inarguable, as all choices are valid. Well, maybe not Chuck E. Cheese for their pizza. :-)

Name me one design under $3K that matches Thors
Other than The Tylers?

Now you're talking yourself into a corner, Paul. I'm sure your speakers are excellent, but this has nada to do with the topic at hand. First, you say the SEAS are the best drivers out there. Then, you claim they are "the best drivers for the $". Now, your challenge is for anyone to find a better speaker in the $3K range? Sorry, but "best anywhere" and "best speaker kit for the money" have no correlation with one another OR with this topic.

There is ALWAYS a "better" out there, no matter what you now have. If you're satisfied, great. If you're not--and it appears by your need to vehemently defend your choice that you're not--then listen to other options. Your attempts to discredit components that you have never heard does not negate their performance, nor does it make them disappear.