Are loudspeakers that different?

Oops! Let your prelate not be accused of exaggerating his system.

I use JMLabs MEZZO Utopias.

will

Thanks folks, appreciate the insight. If I can redirect however, and get your additional input, I should have been more clear perhaps. Since I can not audition speakers I was hoping to do so through anyone willing to offer their experiences - - by proxy if you will. I have been exposed (through reading and experience) to most of the previous posts' philosophies.
I prefer my Aerials by the way. The Totems I listened to were great, hooked up to Myriad electronics and in what I thought was an excellently prepared room. I have a Sony SCD player and the Rowland integrated. Debate over quality of electronics may be pertinent, but I thought the Totems really sounded great - just not my taste, though I will confidently say female vocals sound more realistic through my system.
The Totem sound was holographic (I wondered what people were talking about before I heard these) without any irritants, and decent bass. Somehow the whole thing seemed less solid though. (Similar to Soliloquy? - have not heard them).
So, if anyone can tell me what they have auditioned and what it sounded like, compared to something else, that would be great (every review in a magazine should do this I think)! I realize speaker timbre is a matter of taste, but there can't be more than a dozen general "types" of speaker sounds, if not less, and within each group the "better" performers. For example, in a post I just read, someone said that the Avalon Eidelons had a very open soundstage compared to the emphasis on center focus of B&W's best offerings. This is a very similar comparison I have made between the Totem and Aerials, respectively. It would be nice for those of us who can not audition them to know the sound of, and differences between, for example Utopias, Eidelons, Salons, etc. etc., and even as compared to 2k speakers.
I realize that's a lot to ask and brings about some question of ambiguity and generalization, so thanks if you care to offer your words....!

Hi Paulwp; The point I was trying to make is that it is expensive and difficult to design/build a speaker that has "high quality" bass below say 30-35 HZ. There are many inexpensive speakers that will produce deep bass, but it's typically loose, boomy, and uncontrolled.

My Vand. 3As had "good" bass into the mid 30 HZ, but they absolutely cannot compare to the bass of the Vand. 5s which have excellent bass into the low-mid 20 HZ-- but it cost quite a bit to get this quality bass. But the 3As had an excellent mid-range, ie much like the Vand. 5s. Inexpensive speakers with a very good mid-range are common among "high end" speakers, ie the Vand. 2Ces-- all IMO of course. I do agree that it is not as much of a problem with tweeters. Cheers. Craig

Hate to burst your bubble, Jimmy, but there are a lot more than a dozen speaker "sounds." You're looking for the easy way out, and there ain't one. Seems to me you want to choose a speaker based on other audiophiles' reactions to them. There are three problems here:
1) Every speaker sounds different, often vastly different.
2) Every listener's subjective reation to a speaker is different (and probablt different from yours).
3) A speaker in one room won't sound the same as a speaker in another, even to the same set of ears (and room size is only one reason why).

If ya really wanna be an audiophile, ya gotta get the speakers home, and set up in your room. That's doable, if you have dealers (including online dealers) who are willing to cooperate. You'll pay in shipping costs, but that's the price of admission to this sickness--I mean hobby.

That said, folks here can help you narrow the field (though you need to take every comment with several grains of salt--see #2 above). It would be helpful if you would tell us what price range you're interested in, room set-up, musical tastes. Even better, shop around a bit, find out what's available to you, and then seek out opinions on the most plausible candidates.

Just remember: Your ears, nobody else's.

You got a lot of solid advice in a very short time, Jimmy. Excuse me if I am wrong, but it seems to me you have already decided on the Totem, and what you may need is a pat on the back. No?