The new dynamic in speaker pricing

...I think I'll just continue to diy'ing my Walsh drivers.

They may not be 'perfection personified', but they make me smile.

Perhaps, when I excuse self from this mortal coil, I'll have them destroyed along with my notes, drawings, and all the items collected to make them.

...and y'all can be left with wondering what I was going on about, if bothering to do so at all.

Linkwitz noted "...ignore the room...."  Since mine is basically hideous at this time, it's an upfront necessity for me.  And they do it really well....

I've spent peanuts doing so.  My time involved can be considered in $ & sense to roughly equal to a pair of 10K$ units, but it's mine to burn.

Remaining clueless is your problem...mho....;)

@daveyf as you've heard a number of six figure speakers that I have locally, have to admit I'm never impressed enough to pull out my wallet for a pair. YG Sonja XVs, Chronosonics, Gryphon Trident, etc. Most of the time, they have larger issues that require a lot more effort to get right. 

the one I'd like to hear in an optimized setting is the big Stenheim.  

@keithr   I tend to agree that the price tag of some of these candidates tends to be off-putting, when considered against their abilities, or lack thereof! 

When I heard the big Stenheim's, I was also pretty unimpressed. I was impressed with the Alexx V's, but they require a very large room, a lot of upstream grunt and a fat wallet. Nonetheless, if you have the room and the power ( and the $$), then I would consider them a contender.

@daveyf  I heard the Alexx V’s at a friend of a friend’s house who is also a part time audio reviewer. He drove them with huge SS McIntosh amps, I don’t know what other electronics, a Kuzma turntable, several high end arms and the latest DS $12K optical cartridge and transformer. Even had the famous Mpingo record weight. This system had phenomenal dynamics, bass and resolution. However, after a few records, it just was too forward, too much information. Really like the ultimate studio sound, just not relaxing (or eventually musically interesting).

@fleschler   Sounds like you heard a classic mismatch of gear that had little synergy. When i heard the Alexx V's, they were in a huge room ( 45'X30'!) partnered with D'agostino amps/ preamp and a MSB Select 2 DAC. Superb sound with a huge soundstage and amazing dynamic impact/scale. However, whenever I have heard McIntosh amps, I hear what you describe, so that is where I would expect  the results you heard.

How big was the room you heard the Alexx V's in? I think anything smaller than about 25' x30' would be a limiting factor for these large speakers!