The best speaker you ever heard?


In my opinion, the speaker is by far the most important part of the audio system. After all, it is the only part you hear. OK, the other stuff really matters a lot, but without a great speaker... No go.

I am a bit 'speaker-obsessed' I guess, and now I am wondering: What are the best speakers you have ever heard, and what made them the best?
njonker
The last two commentators give too much credit to components other than the speakers. Most well designed preamplifiers and amplifiers sound very much the same with essentially no input offered by interconnects. Most sound engineers would tell you that the quality of the recording, the listening environment (ie. the room) and the speakers are the main determinants of sound quality. I doubt that most people could really hear the difference between a $2,000 cd player and one for $200.
The electronics do matter a lot in the equation but the cost of individual components is not always a reliable indicator of resulting performance.