What I think shouldn't matter too much to you. It is better for you to learn what you like and why (which is why I share so much detail on the aspects of how speakers work and what the measurements mean) so you can find and enjoy what makes you happy. If I go on about one style of speaker design having scientific flaws which distort the sound in some way, but you LOVE that speaker design more than anything else in the world, then perhaps those flaws are what make magic for you. Much like LPs which have a ton of inherent flaws in accuracy yet smart, experienced, and wealthy listeners choose them regularly as their preferred audio source, perfection (which is my vision of audio nirvana) may not be the "best" for you or anyone else.
So, using a ton of words to try to address that rather complicated question...
I prefer accurate, real, critically perfect speakers which reveal every single aspect of a recording in the room they are in. That is my definition of aspiring for the best. Those JBLs are designed to do just that and they are very, very good at it. That's why they cost more than most similarly sized studio monitors and home speakers. They went so far as to even address one of the detriments of passive crossovers by putting a small bias voltage on all the capacitors which reduces some of the ringing and distortions inherent in all capacitors used in passive filters. So, how do they rate? Well, for me they rate extremely well.
Also, as I mentioned, being able to perform extremely accurately for a listener sitting at least 6 feet away from the speakers in a real home, the JBLs have an advantage over many speakers out there in their controlled dispersion and smooth & wide power response. They reduce many of the issues of reflections in a room in the midrange through treble, and they are inherently more efficient at putting sound at the listening position which in turn reduces distortion and increased dynamic range and peak SPLs. So, especially in average listening rooms, they should perform better than most in a home environment.
Compared to the brands you listed, well, if you compare the JBLs to similarly priced models from those companies, I think they rate better. When it comes to performance per dollar, the JBLs do WAY better than anything in the same range from those other companies.
If you want to talk absolute performance regardless of price, Wilson Audio makes some damn fine sounding speakers when setup properly and placed ideally in a well treated room of appropriate size. Same goes for YG Acoustics. B&W has never sounded good to me, I find them far too harsh and bright sounding, even at the top end of their products and no amount of external processing seems to be able to fix that for me. It's like they are bright and if I put a little treble cut on the they remain bright sounding until they are painfully lacking all treble. It is strange, and I've never understood why they are like that. But, there you go. Millions of people love their sound and are happy to buy their products and listen to them all the time. I haven't spent any quality time with Magico, but the comments I've received and read from people I trust who have heard them in demo environments suggests they are just okay, especially given their selling prices. Of course, I don't know, so I am only going on hearsay.
