Most agreed upon best speaker?

Lrsky, the field-coil powered Classic Audio Loudspeakers will do the same imaging and detail as the Sound Labs, without horn artifact. The speaker is 98 db and goes from 20Hz to 35KHz. If you search this website look for comments on the speaker from either the RMAF 2008 or T.H.E. Show 2009.

One thing to keep in mind is that most horns will not sound right with transistors- that in fact is where the 'horn sound' myth comes from. For more information see
http://www.atma-sphere.com/papers/paradigm_paper2.html

Field-coils are the dynamic speaker equivalent of the powered Electrostatic Field in an ESL. In essence this gives the driver the same speed that an ESL can exhibit, and for the same reason: the motive field does not sag when the amplifier powers the diaphragm to move.

Lrsky, I know what you mean about the Sound Labs- I've heard them many times as I have lots of customers and friends who have them or had them. The detail and cohesive quality that ESLs are capable of on a day to day basis is something that usually leave magnetic loudspeakers in the dust.

Until field coils re-emerged. Field coils were common in the old days until sometime in the 1950s- permanent magnets are cheaper to produce. It seems to be the curse of audio that there is a movement always to the bottom, but in high end we are concerned more with performance, so it is only natural that field coils would show up again.

I think the Classic Audio Loudspeakers, fully equipped with field coils top to bottom, are in the +$50K range. The field coils seem to have the property of doubling the cost of the speakers, which are also available with alnico magnets.

Newbee, the idea that a certain age of music recordings is designed to sound right on a certain vintage of speaker and amplification is a red herring. Often recording engineers, just like today, are recording on location and using headphones. Mic placement theory has not changed in the last 40 years.

Any engineer worth his salt knows that the monitors in the studio are not telling the truth, and that the recording will have to be heard on several different systems, and that it will have to sound right on all of them. That has also been universally acknowledged since the 1950s.

Your descriptions of the Telarc are spot on though. And a lot of the re-issues. I think you are hearing things right.