$25k speakers, are we there yet?

ASR members walk away. For the rest of us.

Well there is something to be said for speakers that have good FR, IR, do not suffer compression, and have well behaved radiation pattern. And then we can talk about cabinet resonances, or a lack of them.

Whether one likes measurements or not, the speaker designers that are not using measurements, and do not provide the, can sometimes be viewed as hiding something.

These big expensive speakers really do need the stars to align for us to ever reach their potential so when my last speakers didn’t do well with the source I had instead of upgrading the source I swapped speakers. What do you need to hear/see/know about your speakers to take the next step and build a 20 year system around them?

It was not overly difficult years ago to find a set.
They have lasted a few decades.
The rest of the system is now to the point that maybe I should consider a speaker upgrade.

What are your goals for speakers?
Musicality? Or something that is neutral and accurate/correct?
Without some “goodness” metric it is hard to agree one what is good… or to compare two speakers and find one is more good than another.

@havocman 

If the vibration of the earth is relevant then you need to isolate yourself from it as well.  Stick some podia under the feet of your listening chair.

Boing boing.

i just bought the Denafrips.  what wrong with the stock power cord?

All depends on what sound you are looking for.  The room treatment cannot change the tone or clarity or slam, or the separation as well as upgrading the parts in your components.  You have to know what makes something sound the way it does.  Think of old Counterpoint equipment for example.  Sounded pretty good back in the day but the parts today are so much better that what was used in them.   Upgrading the parts and a few other things takes you to a level you probably cannot buy today.  IMO to many people are chasing something in sound that they can already have with upgrading the parts quality and a few other items.  How do I know this, we have been repairing and upgrading audio components for over 20 years.  We have heard and compared more components than most people have heard.  It comes down to knowing what makes the sound you want.

Our listening room in Northern New Jersey is open for all to come listening and enjoy.

Happy Listening. 

My experience is that speakers are what actually make the sound and so will define the sound of your system more than anything else. Find something you really love and buy it. If the rest of yor components don't match up to your speakers, fine. Take time over years and upgrade things piece by piece. With each upgrade you'll hear a world of difference. My example is that I had a pair of Vandersteen 2Ce. I loved them. I ran them with an old Rogue 66 pre and m120 monoblocks. My main source was a project debut carbon. When the opportunity arose I upgraded my speakers to Vandersteen quatro woods. This was a huge step up. It sounded better but my components were not letting them shine completely. Over the course of the last 5 years I've upgraded my amps to m180s, upgraded my preamp twice now to an RP-7, upgraded my turntable twice now to a Brinkmann Bardo, upgraded my phonostage twice now to a rogers PA-2. When things sounded not quite as stellar as I though they should Iade some tweaks that isolated my speakers and gear from the floor. It sings like I've never heard before. And truthfully, the speakers are probably capable of more. 

My point, if I haven't successfully made it yet, is that go nuts on the speakers if you can. Fill the component gap later. You'll be increasingly happier as time goes by.