When a budget speaker is preferred to a high end one...

I feel the issue is we are not getting close to maxing out the speaker. I have a few systems. My cheap BestBuy insignia speakers sound so good hooked up to my 200 watt amp. I can’t turn it all the way up but it sounds incredible. My main speakers also sound great because I did not go so far beyond my system. Infact, I am well below what you would think I should have. 

how can you explain this?

In this hobby cost doesn't necessarily equal quality. 

I think it's also the reason that cheaper speakers are preferred, what is your environment? I had an AMAZING pair of Thiel CS3.6s, that are the best sounding speakers that I've ever heard in person and had a simple system that drove them incredibly well......my dream system.

Covid brought on a problem, both my wife and I started working from home full time with one office and one converted bedroom office....which we were in all day. I found myself listening to music much less frequency, because it became "an event" to listen to such large speakers that need to be driven harder (thus louder) to get their best sound. I had to make sure I was ready to crank it up, my wife had to be out of the house because she was exhausted from being couped in an office, and frankly I wasn't enjoying the system the way that is deserved to be enjoyed.

I made a hard decision, sold my Thiels and the accompanying system and started from scratch. Decided I wanted a system that sounded great at lower listening levels, which meant bookshelfs were in the mix. I'll save the gory details over the more than 3 months of comparing components, but in the end purchased a pair of Buchardt Audio S400 MkIIs driven by a Denafriips stack (Pontus II DAC, Hades Pre-Amp, and Thallo Amp) and started streaming with a Bluesound Node V3.

I now find myself enjoying music every day, for hours each day.....and loving discovering music from a different point of view. That pairing is amazing (to me) and is the correct system for where I am at this point in my life. Is it as good as the Thiels on an absolute basis? Of course not, as I said the CS3.6s were the best speakers I've ever heard. But am I enjoying this hobby again with renewed vigor? Yes, much more and I have not looked back....just letting the music play.

For a start is there any reason to believe outrageous designs adopted by some manufacturers can possibly provide any improvement?

Other than bragging rights. They must be brilliant by default. They're more ostentatious than yours!

Love 'em or hate 'em, your focus is drawn to 'em. The opposite of what is preferable.

My main speakers cost 20 times my digital source and 4 times my analog source. Jokes on you @juanmanuelfangioii .

@audiotroy , musicality is mainly frequency response and even the most accurate speakers need room treatment and/or equalization for good frequency response. Accuracy I would assign to distortion and I have never wanted more in a speaker.

Why would I ever want a warm DAC. Why not just equalize as needed.