The best speaker you ever heard?

Well, previously it was the old, three box version of the Audio Physic Caldera, with about $7,000 of electronics feeding them. Those retailed for around $20,000, but were available for "only" $10,000. I'd have bought them on the spot, had I been in a position to do so. I would have to say that the speakers I currently own, for ~5K with the stands, rival--and probably surpass--the Calderas, which is a REAL surprise. Duane sold me a pair of Intuitive Design Summits, which I decided to buy just about a year (or less) after having JUST upgraded my speakers. My wife was appalled, but we agreed that this would be my last major audio purchase for a "long time". That will be no problem whatsoever, as these have completely blown away even my most ridiculously unreasonable expectations, and will almost certainly be the last speakers I ever buy, and I am in my early 40's! All this at the real world (for an audiophile anyway) price of about $5000. I plan a review soon, but have just a wee bit more tweaking to do, and am hoping to be able to do justice to these utterly fabulous masterpieces.

p.s. Thanks, Duane!

Jctedinburgh:

I had the Avanti 3's on my original short list but never got a chance to audition them, since there are no local dealers. Everything I've ever read about them has been glowingly positive, however. Welcome to the "Satisfied with my Loudspeakers" club, of which I am also a happy (ecstatic, actually) member. Congratulations!

With respect to the above, I think many good points are made. Source components are very important. I lack the expertise to appropriately prioritize the links in the signal chain (that's what people like Duane are for, and why I didn't just blindly assemble my system from the internet). However, my opinion is that it's necessary to have a system containing no glaringly weak parts if one seeks the best possible sound for the money. So as a practical matter, component matching and system synergy become the key ingredients. For example, in my system, the Summits sound their very best only when they have the Dodson 217 Mark II D (with its upgraded 218-like software) in the chain. Even though they are a rather efficient speaker at something like 89, 90 or 91 dB, they STILL sound way, way better when driven by an outstanding amplifier, such as the Odyssey Extreme monoblocks which have a lot of power (I reviewed them under "Amplifiers). The amplification power and current are PARTICULARLY important in extracting the best bass response from a loudspeaker. That was true for the Paradigms (also very efficient but still loving the Odyssey power and current) and it is also true for the Summits.

As a practical matter, it becomes almost irrelevant anyway which piece in the system matters "most". They all need to be good.

As a follow-up to my prior post to this thread on 11/12/05, I have now posted the review of the Intuitive Design Summit PSL 624 loudspeakers I'd mentioned, and it is under "Product Reviews" in the "Speakers" category.

"laugh all you want..."
-Andrewdoan

Nobody but an idiot would laugh at the enlightened and successful efforts of a seasoned audiophile such as yourself. I pity anyone who would laugh at a fellow hobbyist who has put together a satisfying system and then been kind enough to share the story of his or her success with this community. In fact, putting together such a system on a budget is even MORE impressive, at least to me, than mindlessly throwing money at a showpiece. IMO.

"'The people making comments including myself, no matter how experienced have limited comparisons. There would be other loudspeaker design we would consider if we heard them irregardless of taste.'
--Armyscout41

"Excellent point, Armyscout41. I would bet that few of us have heard more than a handful of speakers in which all other conditions are constant. And I'm certain that many among us would change our response 2 or 3 times in the 5 years that this thread has been running."
Evita

I agree with Evita and Armyscout41. It's essentially impossible to do TRUE A/B comparisons with a significant number of speakers because of their size, etc. This point became immediately obvious to me at the 2007 RMAF. I do NOT claim to have heard every speaker (well, DUH!), although I have heard quite a few. With that in mind, I will state that I think the best I've ever heard are the

Denalis by Intuitive Design.