What does a 'refined sounding' speaker mean ?

Could mean a lot of things but typically it has to do with timing. A more refined speaker would have natural tone, a little more detail & speed, as well as better attack & decay of individual notes. 

It probably doesn't call attention to itself or any part of the audio spectrum, does everything effortlessly and naturally.

We can guess what it means, or we can turn to the great audio reviewer Lewis Carroll who explained it so clearly in his great audiophile tome Through the Looking Glass:

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all."

Merriam - Webster defines it as precise, exact.  So in a speaker I would say it means lower than normal distortion while remaining musical, not analytical.

 It seems that this term is used a lot in comparison between cheaper and
more expensive gear to justify the price different.

Context is everything. Within the context of comparing cheaper and more expensive gear refined definitely does have meaning.

Although first I'm going to assume we agree its really sound quality we're talking about, and that "cheaper and more expensive" are stand-ins for worse and better sound quality.

Take any one seemingly simple thing like a drummer hitting a cymbal. It goes "ting" right? Simple enough. Which is how it sounds from most budget gear. I mean decent budget gear. Crap budget gear gets it more like, "tss."

In reality the "ting" is not so simple. Depending on the brand of cymbal, where it was hit, and how hard, what stand its mounted in, and how well it was recorded, that cymbal is gonna put out all kinds of harmonics across a whole range of frequencies- and with not only a range of frequencies but a whole range of dynamics. Not "ting" but more like TiiinnNnNnnnnNggggggg taking like forever to trail off into nothingness. 

Got it? Cheap gear, ting. Coarse. Expensive gear, Tiinnnnggggg. Refined.

Totally worth it.

"Cheap gear, ting. Coarse. Expensive gear, Tiinnnnggggg. Refined."

Best explanation yet :-)

A. It's a "refined" sounding system, not speaker.

B. The descriptors above seem to be discussing resolution / clarity rather than 'refinement'.

C. Refined is qualitative. "How are ~equally~ resolved systems different in their refinement?"  Using oil as an example: though refined oil is supposedly "purer," how does it taste?

I've heard only one speaker that touched me as refined.  It was a sophistication of sweetness and accuracy.  Definitely something about the treble.  Can't recall the brand.  It was beyond my means at the time.

I have no idea. Most of the descriptors used by the audio press are meaningless. My favorite is timing which is the purview of the percussionist not a HiFi system. Same for pace unless your turntable speed is off. Characteristics that remain in spite of the program source are the fault of the system such as bass heavy or too much treble. A good system will take on the characteristics of the program source and add or subtract nothing. It can either cast an image or can not. It either has very low bass or it does not. It can play loud cleanly or it can not.  

It's all about subtlety and nuance.  Lesser systems are brash and, err, less refined.

It means it's an ESL. ;-)

I meant AN elegant response. Hate typos...it rendered my comment somewhat inelegant.