Can a Quality Full Range Speaker be the Limiting Component in a system?

>>>> Can a quality full range speaker be the limiting component in a system? <<<<

In your system it can.  In another system it might not. Too many variables to be able to give a yes, or no, answer. 

A better question would be can anything but the speakers be the limiting component in a system made up of quality components.  I've been refraining from commenting on this thread because I have a hard time believing it's a sincere question.  Why would the component that is the least linear by far not be capable of being the limiting component?

I will say that most box speakers for me are a failure because of cabinet sound coloration and because in the mid to lower bass you can hear non linearity in the excursion of the driver. But these are price point cost driven limitations that can be overcome in more costly models. The other factor is crossover and driver placement affect on time coherence. If these aren't right, your electronics won't ever be heard at their best. Cost doesn't help you here, designer solution is what counts.

My speakers sounded fine with a push-pull 65 watts per side tube amp, and in anticipation of obtaining a lower powered single ended tube amp I switched to a pair of well regarded higher efficiency speakers. I bought the amp (Dennis Had Fire Bottle…12 watts or something per side), was using the new speakers and thought…hmmm…not quite the high frequency extension I need, just tonally ho hum, and I really wanted them to sing...so I put the as yet unsold previous speakers back in with no expectations and wow…they sound astonishing. 2 lessons: Don’t buy any speakers you haven’t heard in person, and the second lesson I forget. The original speakers in this tale are Silverline Preludes, with 3.75" D'Appolito arrayed aluminum/magnesium woofers surrounding tweeters of the same metals. My theory about the Preludes is the narrow baffle images better, and the cabinet is very stiff since it's skinny (and thick)…2 REL subs cover the bass. 

wolf

I thought you were my friend but friends don't let friend listen to aluminum/magnesium drivers, especially in the d'appolito configuration.