Have you ever tried a pair of speakers and said this Is the last thing I will ever need.

 For 35 years my speakers were K-horns, and I assumed they would be my speakers forever. My kids used to joke that I would leave one to each of them, but I would answer that I would be buried with them. Then I moved to Arizona and couldn’t find a house with a single room that had 2 corners on the same side. The open plans which now dominate the residential market are an abomination, but living in the street isn’t an option as there are no corners there either.

Right now I’m running a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 10.2s in my main setup, a pair of 10.1s in my bedroom, and assorted others here and there (e.g., powered Behringers for my piano, powered Edirols for my computer), but I keep looking. The trouble is, there’s nowhere to hear the ones I’d really like to hear: Harbeths (P3 and Monitor 30.1), Klipsch Heresy iii, maybe a modern Klipsch like the RP-250f, the Paradigm Signature series, Vandersteen, some of the more exotic brands like Zu and Salk, maybe something I’ve never heard of. I have tried Magnepans, the little MMGs, but didn’t like them much, especially the tiny, unfriendly sweet spot.

The last hi-end audio store in Tucson closed last year – and they didn’t have much on display anyway. Now there’s Best Buy and . . . Best Buy, where the ambient sound level is so high you can’t hear the few speakers they have on display, and of course they don’t carry any of the models mentioned above. I listen to mostly vocal music – choral, small a cappella chamber groups, lieder – I was a member (tenor) of the London Symphony Chorus. So deep bass is not crucial – voices don’t go below 80 Hz – though I do like a Mahler symphony from time to time.

So the answer to the OP’s question is: K-horns, there’s nothing like them, at least nothing I’ve heard. And if you can’t have them, or like me can’t keep them, the quest never ends.

 

Great question.  I'm relatively new to the HiFi scene and still on a steep learning curve being only 5 years in.  However after hearing various really expensive speakers (certainly more than I can afford) at HiFi shows and local dealers here in Melbourne Australia I reckon I will be keeping my newly acquired KEF Blade 2s for quite a while.  Same goes for the Ayre QX-5 Twenty / AX-5 Twenty combo I have upstream with Cardas Clear cabling (speaker & power cables, interconnects and jumpers).  Still can't believe how standing the AX-5 amp on myrtle wood blocks noticeably improved SQ despite having the amp already on a Quadraspire SVT bamboo rack.  Thoroughly enjoying this new obsession of mine and thankfully so is my wife!

After over 59 years since I bought my first "Mono" Player--many incarnations ( too many that sucked both sonically and the wallet!)have been and gone form my abodes
Now though I've settled with what I feel is a fine balance of musicality/involvement/and value for the $(bought S/H as no longer available )especially in a domestic living environment such as an Apartment or similar.

The Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage

I still marvel at what they can produce for the size and cost--indeed a Tour de Force RIP Franco Serblin.

Des

Hi Jake
I've been an audio fool for a long time now! I have finally found a speaker that I believe is a lifer!!! It's custom built by a master speaker builder that is an ex Focal employee. He builds speakers under the brand name TFLO. Located near Edmonton Alberta Canada. I'm so happy with these speakers I don't believe I'll ever get tired of them. I've compared them to $20,000 speakers & to me these are better. What's great about them is that I purchased these at a fraction of that cost. 
Cheers, 
Ivan

Looking to replace my aging B&W 801 Nautilus speakers, I did a little research and discovered that Vandersteen 7, Revel Salon 2,  802 B&W D3 or the Kef  Blade would be very good contenders.  I even toyed with Magnepans. That is, until I came across information on the JBL M2 Reference Monitors which are wave guide, compression driver, active speakers (DSP crossover in Crown amps)  meant for professional music and film  production.  On a lark, I  purchasing a pair at my local Guitar Center along with the required pair of stereo Crown amplifiers (Class I) for about $11,000, a 50% discount.  Later I supplemented this with another Crown amp and a JBL Sub 18 which was made to be mated with the M2.  This unconventional system has 6x2500 watts (bridged for sub), and the dynamic range, even at relatively modest volume, is remarkable.  After painstakingly locating the speakers, sub, and listening position, and thoughtfully installing acoustical room treatment, it is the best system I have personally ever heard.  I can't see replacing it anytime soon.