The best speaker you ever heard?


In my opinion, the speaker is by far the most important part of the audio system. After all, it is the only part you hear. OK, the other stuff really matters a lot, but without a great speaker... No go.

I am a bit 'speaker-obsessed' I guess, and now I am wondering: What are the best speakers you have ever heard, and what made them the best?
njonker
Sorry loveman that you do not appear to have the balls to respond directly back to me after you have read some/all of my threads on what are after all are only my humble thoughts on how hi-fi equipment should sound if it is worth its salt, or meat,potatoes and gravy If it was expensive gear. Perhaps, as you have gone on to a third party, you are seeking a little bit of solace from another 'gonner', or maybe a shoulder to cry on? as it were.
There will always be low fi cheap superstore systems, If there is to be a death it will be the top end fi first, just like a house market slump or the car industry the top end always loses more money than the bottom and therefore suffers more because 'Audiogoners' strange as it may seem are seriously in the minority(less than 1% of total sales I would imagine) when it comes to sales of anything that plays music. Getting back to the beginning, another outlet for blame for a system that does not make any lp's/cd's sound good is the totally useless 'shaver' sockets that adorn walls here in the US. And of course not forgetting the puny 110v electricity power supply that doesn't have enough juice to knock the kneecap of a nat.lol
keep listening.............
About 1990 I heard a pair of Inifinity towers(maybe 5 feet tall) that cost about $8,000 each. This was $8,000 in 1990 .....

Each speaker was being driven off it's own tube amp (monoblock) which I think was a Carver (not enirely sure about the brand).

WHile my recolection back that far isn't so hot .... I can not say I'v eheard anything that stunned me so much.
My PMC IB2 monitors are the best speakers I've heard, within the range I can afford. That means until the Watt Puppys price.
They are stunning in an understated way. Transparent and powerful.
I just recently heard a pair of Apogee knock-offs from a Greek company called Analysis. The particular Analysis speaker I heard was called the Amphitryon, the largest in the line, and the most expensive at $20,000 pr. Jeff Wells, of Audible Arts, in San Jose, Ca. would be happy to share details on associated equipment. I currently own an amazing pair of Montana XP speakers that I felt I would probably keep for a long, long, time to come. The Analysis speakers absolutely "BLEW ME AWAY." They're sound was......."BREATHTAKING." Can't afford the Analysis, although I'm finding myself suddenly searching for a good pair of Apogee Divas.