my high WAF factor compromise at the gf's place has been Sunfire CRM-2 ribbons on CRM-stands, unobtrusive amplification, and an outlaw LFM-1 EX that doubles as a side table

Unlike my place, there's no treatments in the room and it sounds only okay. I had to ditch my custom woofers and speakers in compromise.

It's funny, no matter what I've heard from both sides of the argument, the closest I've ever heard to "being there" has been a pair of Dennis Murphy's Philharmonic 3s in a well treated room on a pro amp. I've never heard imaging from a setup (stereo no less!!!) that has come close. I still get chills. I had the opportunity to pop in MTT and the SF Symphony performing Mahler's 6th and I swear to god it sounded as close to being there as I've ever heard it (having had the pleasure of hearing them perform in person).

If they weren't ugly as sin and I wouldn't be compromising my relationship, I'd be living with those suckers happily.

glad you're enjoying the Fostex FR experience purrin.  i love my modest uFonken^2 with a pair of FF85K per side for 'puter-fi.  they're reflex loaded in a smaller cab and not horn loaded so bass is lacking, but feck all hell, the mid-range is lovely.  no super tweets needed with this 3" driver IMO.  the speaks are driven by a DIY B1/F5.  better than HPs, technically speaking, yes in most regards, but i really like the intimate experience of HPs.  i don't really prefer one over the other.

just slap a few coats of tung oil in the cabs after a bit of sanding and call it good.   

I plan on engineering high quality speakers (whatever the fuck that means) and placing them inside a pocket universe that will, from the outside, resemble a pair of Portapros covered in lilac-purple nail polish.

[size=78%]just slap a few coats of tung oil in the cabs after a bit of sanding and call it good. [/size]

Yup, I've got a can of it and 400grit sandpaper. I will probably be doing it the hard way. Tung-oil, sand, wait. x2. x3. x4.

BTW, I recall you mentioning the uFonkens. Must have planted a subliminal seed.

Nice work Purrin. I wasn't always a fan of wide-banders, but I've come around. They have many of the upsides of horns without the massive coloration and "cupped hands" sound that ruins most horns for me.

Getting the most out of speakers pretty much requires at least a semi-dedicated listening space. You need to be able to allocate at least 2-3 feet of space between the speaker and the front and side walls, and some space behind the listening position is also a big plus. Then you need to start dealing with the acoustics, and the smaller the space, generally the worse problems you'll have there, with swings in response that can be +/- 10dB or more. Suckouts that usually occur around 50-70Hz can completely vaporize response in that region entirely.

Take a really good speaker though like an OBX-RW and put it in a proper room, and no headphone will be able to come within a mile. Soundstage and headstage are two different things. At their best, headphones sound like monitors in a small space. At their best, speakers sound like you have your own private concert.

Harbeths are massively overrated buzz boxes. Feh.