Best all around speakers

"Some audiophiles have several systems that are suited to various genres."

Shadorne, this is certainly a viable approach and perhaps even the best option to produce multiple optimized listening experiences as needed or desired, but don't you think the very top echelon large full range speakers with proper amplification and quality electronics can play all types extremely well, especially if they can handle large scale orchestral works with minimal compromise?

I understand the limitations of the Quads in particular, but there are other large speaker designs out there that cost a lot more that should be able to handle everything extremely well including the things the Quads excel at, don't you think?

Agree with Shadorne, Dunlavy (and Duntech's Classic series) are speakers that are very good on all genres of music that I heard on them. And from their measurements it appears that they were designed with accuracy in mind, so that might have something to do with it.

I'm really not sure either there is one speaker that can sound "best" on everything all the time in any room and at different volumes, etc.

That's probably one of the reasons why I keep multiple pairs around instead of dropping all the dollars into a single pair.

Usually, if I think I might be missing something on one pair, I can pick it up on another.

I do still think I would like to add a pair of good horns someday, just to help make sure I've got all the bases covered.

Also lets not forget that no two pairs of ears hear exactly the same either.

bang for the buck..used dunlavy/duntech/hales

Agree with Shadhorne completely. I have never heard a speaker that does everything right. Further, I don't believe that there is any such thing as a completely "accurate" speaker. I certainly haven't heard such a speaker, and I think limitations of technology make it impossible. But, hypothetically, even if there were, that doesn't mean you'd necessarily find it entirely satisfying for every listening need. That's because source material is recorded and mastered using all kinds of different-sounding equipment, such that there are all kinds of variabilities in the sound of source material--with an end result being that some source material is going to sound better with speakers of a certain "voice" and other source material will sound better with other types of "voicings". It's all there in interviews with various speaker manufacturers--they tend to start with certain parameters, but ultimately voice based on their ears, and are quite happy to tell you that. And no pair of ears hears quite the same way, or is subject to quite the same tastes of the brains that they're attached to. That's why we have so many different manufacturers of speakers, and so many adherents to one or more of them as being "the best."