Cannot find perfect sound

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.

Many, many audiophiles have some hearing loss. I did not get many answers in another thread when I asked “when was the last time you had a hearing test?”. Many people obsess over quality speakers, amps, sources, power cords and the list goes on without knowing about thier own ability to hear well and all the psychology one must understand about one likes or does not like about sound.

@shadorne 

I think you're misinterpreting what I said. I did not say I preferred cheap earbuds over expensive speakers. If that was the case, there would be no need to buy speakers and I could just continue using the cheap earbuds. 

What I did say is that I could not hear the timing accuracy I hear from earbuds in these speakers. And it's not just earbuds I've tried other cheap headphones and I hear the exact same timing accuracy despite differences in frequency response.

I also hear major resonances from many high end speakers which the reviewers seem to ignore. Even my PMC speakers have horrific resonances. Despite this, they were highly regarded by all the studio engineers. 

There is some logic in saying that earbuds do not suffer cabinet resonances the same way speakers do since there is no cabinet or huge vibrations from headphones. 

Hearing loss is a valid point but it's not the answer I'm looking for. My hearing is not perfect but I'm not completely deaf either. I can still appreciate certain differences that are real. 

What about the fact that I enjoyed the kef blades?  If you check stereophile you'll see that they're super flat both on and off axis and near state of the art measurements and some of the lowest cabinet resonances I've seen. Hearing loss does not explain my preference for that.
And by the way the kefs were good but not perfect.

We here did they go?

Personally, I'd do something that seems anathema on this group: get sophisticated professional audiometric testing. Wayyyy cheaper than $15K speakers, and probably gives useful information that might inform your future decisions. I found my tests to be disturbing, but also economically useful in guiding my gear choices. I've got great gear, but spending more on newer, spendier, more extreme stuff will only deplete my checking account and lead to further acoustic frustrations. My issues are biologic, not electronic. I guarantee I am not the only one on this list. Just saying...