Cannot find perfect 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...

I'm sad that there's no way to react to posts here. Regardless, I agree strongly with those here who point to the listening room as the likely source of the OP's failure to find a loudspeakers + room system that delivers satisfying temporal accuracy. I seriously doubt that any PMC loudspeakers have "horrific" resonances. Seriously! However, many, many rooms have modes that produce huge peaks and suckouts. Some loudspeaker designs interact less with the room than others; however, none will completely overcome a poor room. A simple $3.5k pair of Fritz Carrara BE, for example, will render mind blowing accuracy in timing in a thoughtfully set up room. Same goes for the other fine loudspeakers cited here. Anyone who's genuinely interested in experiencing great sound from loudspeakers must be willing to do the work required in the room.