KEF Reference 1Price: $7499.99 per pair

Website: www.kef.com

Doug said: KEF’s Reference 1 is the best stand-mounted speaker I’ve ever heard. The bottommost octave excepted, it’s among the very best speakers I’ve heard of any size and price. As its name implies, the Reference 1 can indeed be considered a reference for stand-mounted loudspeaker design.

Reviewers' Choice

Read the SoundStage! Hi-Fi review.

The gist: The smallish speaker Doug has been waiting for.