Which speaker is the master of IMAGING ????

Wilson W/P 7's. They also make use of Focal drivers on the top end.

Spica TC50 and Quads have superb imaging. Also, I've heard a few single driver (Jordan, Fostex, and Lowther) speakers with great imaging too. Single driver speakers usually have more precise imaging, depending on size and execution. As a general rule, small 2-way and smaller single driver speakers have better "imaging" than larger multiple driver speakers.

Furthermore, I've never heard a speaker with 3 or more drivers produce imaging that was convincing. They all seem to distort scale and proportion, albeit while playing louder over a greater range.

A few years ago, I heard the MBL 101s (the watermelon-shaped speakers) with a single sub driven with the-then-top of the line VAC CPA pre and a model of the Vintage amps. On an orchestral recording, musicians each had their own little 3D spot where they sat. When you walked towards the speakers, none of the their positions moved. Once you were past the front line of the speakers, still facing forward, the first lateral rows of musicians were BEHIND you, just like you were walking past them in real life with you moving closer to the woodwinds. The hairs on the back of the neck went up then! Uncanny and WAY outta my price range! Also, not even close on solid state, so much so, I don't recall what was used.

Sean. Interesting comment on JML and focal drivers.Every JML speaker I have heard has a distinctive sonic signature that's recognizable throughout their entire speaker line.Funny... how other speakers employing that driver sound so much better.I have to concurr with TWL regarding single drivers as a "point source".Most single driver speakers have the ability to completely disappear in the room regardless of the size of the cabinet employed.The older Tannoys with their dual concentric drivers are a good example of that analogy.The music just floats in the room with nothing sticking to the speaker.An amazing illusion when you can make a box the size of a refridgerator disappear.

Ecclectique: I agree that JM's have a very specific "house sound" to them. Then again, i've always thought that there were two ways to design a product. One is to try and make it as "measurably accurate" as can be made at that given price point. The other is to "voice" a product for a specific sound that the designer likes or thinks sounds good. If the second approach is taken and the engineer / designer is consistent in these thoughts, their product will have a very distinct sound. Enter the JM Labs, etc.. type of products. As mentioned, i don't personally like that sound and i find it highly coloured.

The only other remaining way to design a product is to build something that works and throw it on the market. Manufacturers that do this are not hard to find as they leave plenty of evidence behind. A perfect example of this is Bose. When switching between various models in the product line, each speaker sounds different from the next. As such, which one is "accurate" and / or which one "sounds good" ???

I recently demonstrated this to a salesperson at Best Buy and it got them to thinking. By the time i left out of that store, the salesperson had run me around the entire audio department asking me about various products, how they worked, what my thoughts were on different manufacturers, various cable designs, etc... It was both enjoyable for me as finding someone in such a position that wants to learn is rare and enlightening for him, as he could now better understand some of the things that his ears had already told him years before. I turned him onto Audiogon and have the feeling he'll show up here sooner or later : )

As to your comments about point source speaker designs, i too am a fan of these. While they have their limitations ( that's why i have several very different systems ), they can do some things like no other speaker system. Sean
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