Cannot find perfect sound

Stevecham - You left one out - Green Mountain Audio

I’m following this thread carefully. Once the OP finds the right speakers, I’ll know what to buy...

btg88: thanks for the reminder re: Green Mountain, and, as another member pointed out above, planar speakers as well.

Green mountain audio are not worth being mentioned in this discussion. The green mountain audio speakers were the most recent speakers I bought and they were nowhere near the level of speakers like the kefs.

The green mountains sound cold, there's no bass and I hear midrange resonances. I'm surprised some people can't hear these things.

You likely have a hearing problem. There is no way cheap ear buds sound good. I have Shure IEM that cost $1500 and they sound fantastic for IEM but they can’t begin to compete with speakers because the sound is all in my head and it just sounds artificial because it is artificial as there are no reflections from the environment around me.

Possibly something relating to the pinea which is bypassed by an ear bud.

Possibly a restricted swollen or infected outer ear canal - the ear bud may open the passage slightly.

Possibly hearing loss in certain frequency ranges that favour a cheap ear bud with it’s highly uneven frequency response vs an audiophile grade speaker.

Your brain may have difficulty sorting out reflections from the primary sound - this is a very common hearing disorder with older people who have trouble hearing in noisy restaurants - usually one ear or both ears are not functioning correctly and focusing on the sound from a person close to you at the table becomes a concentration challenge and can be fatiguing. The background sound seems to overwhelm you. The brain/ear uses a complex system involving both ears to deal with and effectively filter ambient reflected energy which can typically be 40% of the sound that reaches the ear in any enclosed space like a room. Strangely enough, the reflected energy adds to the enjoyment of music and allows more details to be discerned - provided of course the ear/brain can sort out all the complexity arriving at the ear drum.

There is no other sensible plausible physical explanation for your unusual preference.

I mean this in a kind way - it is better to be aware of the real problem (the obvious issue) rather than be misled by “phase” and other impossibly ridiculous explanations for such an unusual preference.