In my opinion, speakers are the most personal part of a system and will have the largest impact on whether or not YOU like a system. My advice, take a lot of time to listen to different brands and models before you make a selection. You should also have a good idea of which amp(s) you'll want to use so you can make sure there's descent synergy. Some speakers sound really good with some amps; others simply sound ok or even downright bad.
A pair of speakers with a high sticker price doesn't automatically guaranty musical nirvana to your ears or mean they'll sound any better than a pair that's half the price or even less. Say for instance you select a pair that you don't like the voice on - no amount of money spent on amps, preamps or sources will cure the problem.
The Esoteric system at AXPONA is a perfect example of a relatively inexpensive pair of speakers that sound fantastic with high-end, expensive electronics - The Esoteric Grandioso F1 Integrated amplifier, the Grandioso G1 Master Clock, and the Grandioso K-1 SACD/CD player (total list price for the three is just over $75k) driving a $15.6k pair of Canton Reference 3K speakers. There was a great synergy with this system and the speakers didn't break the bank, coming in at less than 20% of the system cost!
I heard them only for a short while, so I'm very much looking forward to Ivan's opinion of them (Ivan's got a pair coming in for evaluation, and depending on how they sound, he may begin selling them).
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