In the room I speak of was Fritz and his speakers. For under $4,000 he was selling really unique crossover designs with world class drivers. $4k for the parts he was using is basically a song, and to be put together in such lovely sounding speakers was an amazing feat.
@erik_squires I recently picked up a set of Fritz's Carbon 6s (partially based on some of your prior comments). They have convincing bass down to 40Hz and quite frankly IMO make world class sound as long as you don't push them too hard. The cabinets are nicely finished and don't vibrate. The woofer is very fast, owing to carbon fiber re-inforcement, is also pistonic and free of breakups (so they are smooth and detailed). They would be ideal IMO in a smaller room (like you often encounter in audio shows in hotels)!
I'm a fan. They are very well thought out and classy (the speaker grills are fixed to the cabinet with magnets- a nice touch). They are a good example of how high end audio is driven by intention rather than price- they are very reasonably priced and allow you to build a world-class system without high cost.