Thanks Ked for making me aware of this thread.
Ron, I don't really subscribe to any loudspeaker theory so my thought process might not make any sense. For the full chain it was Sonus Faber Aida - Stenheim Reference Ultime - Goebel Divin Noblesse - Tannoy Westminster - Audio Note AN/E.
I had the Aidas for quite a few years and didn't really have any desire to change. It was being driven by Kondo Kaguras and they worked fine. A sudden itch made me move to the Stenheims which I enjoyed for a while but the Kaguras simply could not drive them so I switched to solid state Orpheus amps. I have switched from tube amps to solid state many times for the punch and ease of use and each time it doesn't last that long and this was no exception. Goebel was a relatively new kid on the block with their divin line and to me was much better than the Stenheims. I changed the amps to a used pair of Robert Koda G70s which were really good and only cost be 10k. They drove the Goebels with ease and this could easily be a end game combo imo. I wish i kept the Koda amps.
At some stage I got tired of the big black darth vader like goebels and wanted to reclaim the living room space with a more traditional to look. The westminsters were always on my bucket list and a used pair turned up allowing me to try them out. This being HK there is simply no space to store one pair in the garage whilst you play with another pair so the Goebels went and the Tannoys stayed. I really like the westminsters but they were simply too big for my living room and I don't mean acoustically. They simply blocked my bookcases completely but they sounded great. If I ever have a really big living room I wouldn't say know.
At that time, I set up a really simple system in London composed of a pair of Klipsch La Scalas, a Lumin T2 server and an Audio Note UK Meishu integrated amp. Simple system until the volume control needed replacement and I drove my amp down to the Audio Note factory in Brighton and whilst there got hear a pair of Audio Note AN/E speakers which if you've heard them in the right setting are pretty mesmerising considering their dimunitive size and weight. I borrowed a pair from AN and it took the Kplisch apart and then some. I became an AN speaker fan overnight.
Getting back to HK I borrowed a pair of AN/E and assumed it would simply not be able to pressurise my living room in Hk which whilst not wide is some 45ft deep and has tall ceilings of around 13ft. I was very wrong. To me with the speakers stuffed into the corners as they are supposed to be, the room felt pressurised and full sounding like never before. And that is how I ended up with Audio Note AN/E speakers in London and in HK. A bit random I know but ignoring the sound, one huge benefit of AN/E speakers is they sit completely out of the way against the corners. Compared to the behemoths I have had this is a refreshing change. I don't have a dedicated listening room like some of you, nor do i really like that kind of thing, so having something unobtrusive whilst sounding really good is where I am now. I had a opportunity to visit Peter Qvortrup at his home in November to hear the new Field Coil versions of the AN/E and they are even better than the passive version.
So, Ron, going back to your original question, no I wasn't really disatisfied with any of them. They're all great and different, that's all. Sometimes you need to try something to get the itch out. i just wish the journey had been less expensive.
