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Bose speakers are the Monster Cables of the speaker world. You can buy far better, but you can't pay much more. Actually, you can pay more. But if you are only looking at mass merchandised brands sold in major electronic retailers, you probably can't.

Probably true, but Magneplanars are out of my price range. :-)

Did anyone look at the pics in the Wired article? It's basically a whole mess of planar-magnetic drivers (e.g. Monsoon, Eminent, Apogee, Magnepan, etc.) mounted on a panel. Is it really that simple?

Sorry, wrong link:

"action" take 2

On the best speakers you will almost always hear the differences. Naturally the system has to be up to the task as well but the difference between 128 and original is as wide as hearing a real instrument vs. a recording of the same instrument. It's true, on most speakers you will never hear the difference but that doesn't mean it's not there. And it doesn't take a "golden ear" to hear the difference. You can tell as soon as the music starts that something isn't right. Headphones are even worse because they lack any sense of realistic scale. Most of what humans are good at hearing is "action" which is more the feeling of the nuances of the music, not whether all the frequencies are completely correct. Codecs usually get the frequencies right, they just completely kill the "touch" or "action" of the music. For a nice description of these nuances (short of listening to a great stereo yourself), this is a good review:

"action" defined

Several companies make electro-static speakers similar to the Stax design. Notable among them would be Martin-Logan or Magaplanar.

And yes, you're right -- once you've listened extensively to electro-static speakers, nothing else seems to measure up.

I've a pair of 6'x4'x2' magnaplanar mg2b's from the mid eighties which sound amazing when powered with good gear... for <1/10th the price of those new B&0s. If you want a good set of speakers within that price range, try something worthy.

Ever notice how the large majority of speaker companies have speakers that look like a box?

Ever wonder why after decades of research they're still a box?

Ever notice that B&O likes to make non-conventional looking stuff and then charges an arm and a leg?

They're selling you functional art at really high prices folks.

If you want speakers that actually sound good, then try an electrostatic or planar speaker. Magnepans aren't a kajillion dollars and are a damned good place to start looking for planars.

"You need at least three speakers in front of you, preferably five, to be able to accurately position sounds." Hmm... I don't think so. Go listen to some Maggies at your local high-end hi-fi store. Two speakers will image far better than any 5.1 speaker setup costing anywhere near their price. They're beautiful. Imaging has a *lot* to do with phase, and most speakers put a filter smack dab in the middle of our most sensitive hearing range (we are most sensitive to 1kHz-3kHz, and most speakers put a filter at ~2kHz). With the exception of first order filters (which have tons of problems in their own right, and are rarely used), filters screw up phase horribly.

"...they'll say they have 15Hz-30kHz or better frequency range". I assume you mean amplifiers will be rated this way. Speakers will never be rated this good. Not even $70,000 speakers. Yes, computer speakers will exagerate claims. But not this great. Most computer speakers have a -3dB (half perceived volume) point of around 80Hz. A decent $1000+ pair of speakers will have a -3dB point of around 50Hz. Both will usually quote the -60dB point, which is around 60Hz and 35Hz accordingly. Most subwoofers will hit their -60dB point around 25-30Hz. Some extraordinary woofers will push that down below 20Hz. But that's very rare. However, most computer speakers will focus on the 100Hz-2kHz region. Most people perceive mid bass (around 100Hz) as deep bass, so this fools a lot of people.

"...but they will have a crystal-clear, completely flat, frequency response across the entire audible range". No. They won't. No speaker has anything close to a flat frequency response. Go do some waterfall plots of any speaker, regardless of price, and you'll see what I mean. Dips and peaks of 5dB or more are common, even on the most expensive of speakers. And once you go off-center on the speakers, the response gets even worse. To find a speaker that covers the entire audible range, you'll also be looking at a speaker system costing thousands of dollars. I'd look towards Hsu Research for budget subwoofers that can cover the lower end of the audible spectrum. High frequencies aren't as hard to produce. But, in any event, you won't find any speaker that approaches a linear response.

But, yes, I agree that you should use your own ears to test audio systems. If possible, test them in your own home, as the room in which they are placed makes a significant difference to the sound.

Hardly. There are two I can think of that outclass EVERYTHING in the US. B&W's line, specifically the Nautilus, are some of the most trick speakers on Earth... the 601 coming it at $400 to the 801 used at Abbey Road studio to the $30,000.00 Nautilus - all made in the UK. From Holland we have BD Design's Oris. There are many more. Focal from France, Morel from Israel, Peerless from Germany, Solen from Canada... the list goes on. I really cannot name a US company that can compete with the exception of Magnepan (which comes to mind when you mention these thin speakers). If you are thinking of Bose as a world leader, they make crap... but my point is the US retaining leadership is a stretch of the imagination. The US has market share, but I current audio reviews claim that B&W is the hallmark of design. Many agree.

Flat speakers (aka electrostatic speakers), though not exactly mainstream, aren't unusual in the audiophile world. If you're really curious, you might check out Magnepan or MartinLogan or Quad. Also try looking for reviews at Stereophile. There used to be a user-review site at www.audioreview.com, but it's not resolving for me so maybe they're offline at the moment.
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A buddy of mine uses a digital preamp, D/A coverter (apologies, can't remember brand or model #s), and a pair (yes, i said pair) of Classé Omega Dual Monoraul amps piped into a pair of Magnepan Magneplanar MG 20's. For enhanced bass, the low frequencies are sent through a Krell amp to a set of custom-made 15" subs.

OK, so you're over $50k now. A little much for a multimedia PC system, but hey! Why would you ever want to sacrifice quality in your audio system?