My two best:

1. Sonus Faber Cremonas

2. (Surprise) Gallo Nucleus Reference 3's ($2600/pr!).

The Gallos are true giant killers. They give Wilsons/Maggies/etc a SERIOUS run for their money.

QUAD ESL-989. I'm such a QUAD fanboy, but with very good reason. Peter Walker practically invented the full range electrostatic with the ESL 57, and they have been producing the worlds only point source electrostatic since 1981. If you live near a QUAD dealer, you owe it to yourself to listen to them.

They aren't going to punch out 20hz at 125db, but in all other ways, I consider them to be the nearest to the perfect loudspeaker there is. And now for some blasphemy, I have yet to hear a headphone that could match their resolution - granted, I haven't heard the orpheus, but that aint for sale...

Their little brother, the 988 (with less bass panels) is almost as good for a lot less money. Especially for those whose rooms aren't big enough to accomodate a 30hz waveform.

edit: It's interesting to me that, despite the fact that almost every main stream press review has agreed with what I've just said, many 'audiophiles' have still never heard of the QUAD brand.

1. Wilson Maxx 2s
2. Aerial Acoustic Model 9s

The Wilsons are the best speakers I've ever heard, but I thought the Aerials deserved mention. All of the Aerial speakers (except for the Model 6, IMO) offer GREAT value compared to other brands. You can get equal performance in the Model 9 to the Wilson WATT/Puppy IMO at less than half the price. All of the Wilsons are too expensive really for what they do, but that's also just my opinion. Of course, if you like the Wilson sound signature, I guess you're stuck paying the premium . Also, I agree the Gallo Reference IIIs are great speakers for the money, but I don't think they can really match any of the Wilsons (other than maybe the Cubs). If I was looking for speakers in that price range I'd probably be looking at the Gallos and the Totem Forests, which are another great speaker IMO. The only thing the Gallos don't really do is play particularly loudly. In fact they don't play loudly at all without sounding strained and a little harsh. The Forests are better in that respect.

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Well, I must say I disagree with that assessment. The Gallos excel at playing loudly and I'd put them up against a lot of other full-range speakers regardless of price any day of the week. Of course my opinion is entirely subjective, as is everyones in these matters.

Having said that, this thread is not about "which speaker is best" but "what is the best speaker you've heard". I've never heard the Forests - I'd like to though.

The Forests were at the HE2004 show and I had to look behind the curtain to see where they were hiding the imaginary sub!