Man, what a question and you expect to ever get a definitive answer? Look at the responses and you can see that pretty much if 100 people respond you will get 60-100 different answers. I have been in the hobby for over 25 years now and from what I can see to each his own! Yes, there are some statement products out there that are considered the BEST for a short time but they always get replaced by newer and "better" in no time! Just read some of the audio magazines out there and you will agree! One thing I just know by now is that each opinion is worth a penny and is pretty much useless unless you experience the product by yourself. What "tastes" good to me might be tastless to you.
I usually get this type fo questions by people outside "audiophilia": What is the BEsT speaker out there? What is the BEst company in Audio? What is the Best amplifier? What is the Best cup cake? The best for one is the MOST expensive. TO another is the "best sounding" for HIS or HER own tastes.
Sorry for being in a "philosophical" mood but the question did strike me funny. Please do not get me wrong. I enjoy reading the responses but if you try to make an assessment of what you learn you can go crazy. What amuses me to no end is that people actually TRY to respond to a question like this. They usually talk about their latest acquisition or something they dream about but rarely have any serious experience with. In both cases any response to what is BEST is at best subjective and in many cases very misleading.
Anyway, enjoy the hobby!
I usually get this type fo questions by people outside "audiophilia": What is the BEsT speaker out there? What is the BEst company in Audio? What is the Best amplifier? What is the Best cup cake? The best for one is the MOST expensive. TO another is the "best sounding" for HIS or HER own tastes.
Sorry for being in a "philosophical" mood but the question did strike me funny. Please do not get me wrong. I enjoy reading the responses but if you try to make an assessment of what you learn you can go crazy. What amuses me to no end is that people actually TRY to respond to a question like this. They usually talk about their latest acquisition or something they dream about but rarely have any serious experience with. In both cases any response to what is BEST is at best subjective and in many cases very misleading.
Anyway, enjoy the hobby!