Dare I admit? Low end speaker confusion - help

In my eternal quest for music as good as, as uh - well, perfection - I've listened to many, many speakers and am having a ridiculously hard time improving upon my old ones.

Everytime I've searched for speakers I gave up and bought something else, an amp, tape deck, new cartridge.

I've grown up in the NAD, Sony, Polk, Realistic price range.
I matured to Aragon, California Audio Lab, & Audio Physic.

I don't want to be chastised from this group but -
Why is it so difficult to find a speaker under 3 grand that sounds better than my 25 year old Radio Shack Optimus-5's??
Come over - I need to vindicate myself.

They have an 8" Woofer, 2 3" midranges (I removed one and it acts as a tuned port, somehow) and a 20 dollar Radio Shack Super tweeter.
I get what you would expect from a speaker with a driver for Bass, Midrange and Highs - Clear, distinct Bass, Midrange (incredible guitar picks) and amazing highs.

Side by side, my friends are really surprised.

Am I insane?
Were these speakers really something?
Does the fact that I have independent drivers for Bass, Midrange and Highs make all the difference as opposed to a high end two way floor speaker?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!