Which SPEAKER for the 21ST century?

Cone driver systems have evolved more in the last 20 years than planar speakers have. I am a Soundlab guy, and 20 years ago there was NO cone speakers that could touch Soundlab.

After hearing the new Kharma and Avalons at CES, I would say it is now a close call, with both systems offering something the other cannot do.

The next 10 years will bring great advancements to Soundlab and other planar speakers, I know of one on the burner at Soundlab that will be remarkable when it happens. Although you can rest assured that the best of the cone driver speakers will continue to evolve with better crossover parts, faster and lighter drivers and even better designs for cabinets.

This is good for all of us. Truly, high end has gotten much better in the last few years and will continue to evolve, as long as there are dedicated listeners to buy these products.

Tweekerman, perhaps my political correctness in protecting newer cone speaker designs was too much. I cannot imagine a better speaker than Soundlab, and only wonder how much better they can be in the next version.

If you could hear Ultimate One Soundlabs set up with analog and all tubes you would have no reservations about what ultimate performance can be.

Provided the room acoustics are engineered properly, and all the electrical is dedicated and grounded properly, there is less compromise in the musical performance than differences experienced from one performance hall and another.

The one reservation in my statement is DETAILS. Details are what make the difference in any system, and the higher end one strives for in performance, the narrower the margin for error. The art of making a music system as perfect as it can get is much greater than the sum of it's parts.

In short, even if a "perfect" speaker existed, and it never will, some owners will have worse sound than we have today, because they simply cannot get the rest of the system right.