The best speaker you ever heard?

on the subject of stratospheric prices for high end speakers and amps -- i checked out the new stereo shelf at the dynamic contrasts site : http://www.dynamic-contrasts.com/
the manufacturer makes some of the most over the top claims about his component rack ( called the rts ) in the history of high end hype . has anyone here tried this product ? according to the designer the $12,000 ( !! ) rts stereo shelf will transform the sound of any component to ultra high performance . i do admire this guy's confidence . i sent him a quick email :
" twelve thousand bucks for a stereo shelf ? ! ! ! have you gone completely insane ? ! ! "
and he sends an email right back :
" Well, you can certainly purchase a pair of $100k speakers, a $60k cdp, a $50k amp, or a pair of $30k speaker cables, or all four items and still only obtain a mere fraction of the RTS' performance when coupled with perhaps any well-thought-out system.
I ask you, which is more insane? In fact, if per chance my performance claims were only half true or even just one-quarter true the RTS would still be insanely cheap in comparison, don't you think? Relatively speaking of course. "

you have to love the hutzpah .

The best speaker I ever heard was my own (VMPS RM2) AFTER I replaced my expensive box subwoofers with an IB system(http://home.comcast.net/~infinitelybaffled/).

Suddenly, clarity (the most amazing thing, which I did not expect) from the l/r and center channels, and bass such as I've never heard before: refined, detailed, and extended below 10 htz (yes, I measured ,and equalized, this response, with a Velodyne SMS-1 system).

I will vote for the Focus 20/20 and/or the Helix
I believe that in the audio world qualifying a component should be based on the best quality at a reasonable price
Going above $20K is like selecting a Patek Phillipe over a Jager LeCoultre watch where selection is a matter of taste and preference where they both will have identical time precision

I will admit that nearly all of my high end speaker listening has been with the Focal line, but my clear favorite is the Focal Utopia Diablo with a JL Audio subwoofer. The first few times I heard this combination it simply blew me away. Even if I could afford the Utopia Grande speakers I would choose the Diablo's.

The room heard in has to play a big part in allowing the best speakers heard to reach their potential.

How many of us have rooms like the ones that these larger best speakers in particular were heard in?

So just a word of advice to focus on getting the speakers matched to your room and system rather than on what you hear in somebody else's room. You can reach you own optimal sound a lot faster and likely for less as well that way.