best shippers?

Try Roadway Express. I have used them several times to ship speakers. They have been fast easy and at a fair price.

I make fine furniture and send it worldwide from Australia.Allied Pickfords have proven to be good but none of them are perfect.I sent a dining table to Canada only to have it damaged as it was being delivered to its final destination by local contractors.
Whoever you use my advice is to wrap it in at least 3 layers of bubble wrap,regardless of their packing techniques.

FedEx? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
I recently bought a pair of floor standing speakers from Singapore and they rolled my speakers on the floor inside my home. Their poor handling resulted in cracked corners.

Later, a replacement from USA (also using FedEx) had the same problems - cracked corners.

Of course, I think the packaging material used is also a problem.

My speakers arrived (450 crate plus 2 boxes) safe and sound, and the folks at TeamAir.com couldn't have been better to work with. Net/net, air-ride quality at literally hundreds less than freight. And unlike Bax Global, they can ship from non-business addresses. Thanks to Dan (porschecab) for the heads up.