I think that's one of those things that boil down to a matter of taste. Most people in audio are trying to build a system that serves their music, and gets out of the way. Some people are disturbed by phase errors or certain types of distortion, and some consider these acceptable trade-offs.
I personally prefer time and phase coherent speakers, although I have none in-house right now. I was raised on Vandersteens, and these kind of speakers just seem to serve the music better over the long haul. Of course there are only a few companies making this kind of speaker, now that Meadowlark is gone. The parameters that are needed to make a first-order speaker go are more limiting to a designer than than say fourth-order ones.
I personally prefer time and phase coherent speakers, although I have none in-house right now. I was raised on Vandersteens, and these kind of speakers just seem to serve the music better over the long haul. Of course there are only a few companies making this kind of speaker, now that Meadowlark is gone. The parameters that are needed to make a first-order speaker go are more limiting to a designer than than say fourth-order ones.