There are many different types of loudspeakers: dipoles, monopoles, horns, bipoles, electrostats, planars, ribbons, dynamic, uni-drivers, multi-drivers, and half a dozen others I haven't listed.
All attempt the same feat; faithful reproduction of recorded material. And considering the many ways to achieve the same goal how can any one speaker system claim to be best?
They can't, just like it's not possible to claim there's any right food, language, race, or visual image.
How often do these many approaches get it right? Not often, in my experience.
I demand transparency, a disappearing act (the sound should not come from the loudspeakers), full range without obvious shortcomings, and proper tonal balance—frequencies that never shout out louder than others.
Of all the loudspeaker systems I have heard that meet my critical approval, the only thing in common seems to be the skill of the designer. The tools, materials, and philosophies of mechanizations can be all over the map, but it's the designer's extraordinary skills that seem to pull things together.
High end audio remains one of the few art forms left to us in this ever increasing commoditization society.
I hope the art and skill needed in our hobby only grows, and the push for standardization and sameness fades.
