As implied by @mapman, for long term enjoyment, I believe it is most important to find a speaker, a type of speaker, or a manufacturer's "house" sound that is "musical" to you and with which you are comfortable.
When I first started down the road of reproduced music, it seemed I easily and decisively determined which gear/speakers I liked the sound of and which I didn't, starting with car systems using Jensen coaxial 6x9 speakers (liked) and Infinity poly cone speakers (didn't like). It seemed easy to build a good sounding (musical) system on just about any budget and I spent way more time thinking about the music I was listening to than the gear I was listening through.
After building a pair of large and very musical DIY Jenson Triaxial speakers (still have them) that got me through college and beyond, I finally had a few bucks. After much auditioning I found that I really liked the A/D/S sound of the day (1981), so I ended up with L810s that I owned and enjoyed for over 20 years. I subsequently purchased A/D/S 300i and later 320i speaker systems for the vehicles I owned and folks would say stuff like, "wow, that sounds like a home system in your car."
At about that time, I had more money and unknowingly morphed into an "audiophile" (i.e., obsessed with changing gear and "upgrading" my system). It didn't help that I had two friends working at one of the better shops of the day and they would often say, "you gotta hear this!" One of my earlier (brilliant) moves was selling the L810s I had enjoyed for over two decades for about half what they go for now. I then moved through several speakers that the magazines said I should really like. The closest I got to a sound I enjoyed was with the old B&W matrix series. I finally did a little research and realized that Michael Kelly who started Aerial had been involved with A/D/S so I listened to some Aerial speakers and the sound reminded me of the "musicality" I enjoyed with the L810s. While the metal dome tweeter used by Aerial was/is different from the old fabric dome of the A/D/S speakers, it was relatively sweet sounding without harshness and the Aerial house sound seemed to retain a similar rich tonality and punchy dynamics as my old L810s.
I purchased a pair of Aerial 9s and was finally happy and comfortable with the musicality of my system again. I have struggled a little with the amplifiers I used to drive my Aerial speakers but have finally found a pair of large Class AB amps that drive them well and sound great. I did take a sideways move in the Aerial line when I purchased a pair of stand mounded LR5s that have a similar house sound but are actually better speakers because of the sealed woofers (traded the "larger and deeper" low bass of the 9s for the
accuracy and control of the LR5's bass). At the suggestion of Michael Kelly, I augmented the LR5s with a pair of Aerial SW12 subs (also musical and dynamic) for a sound I cannot imagine ever changing. The only possible speaker change I have thought about would be to add another one or two of the SW12 subs. So, while not exactly a "speaker for life" with the A/D/S to Aerial line, I have found a "house sound" for life to meet my desire for a musical speaker that has no problem rocking out.
