How good is my source?

mkaes, one of the pitfalls of audio reviewing is that reviewers tend to over dramitize the sonic differences between components. Yes it is true that a dCS converter sounds different than a Wadia, but the reality is the differences are not major. (My standard is musical relevance, not audiophile minutae.) In the high-end audio arena the difference between components are usually small to very small, if not in fact trivial. Good components do not sound dramatically better or worse than other good components in properly setup systems. They sound slightly different and we as audiophiles thrive on these differences, minor though they be.

Cornfed's tone may have been severe, but I agree with his basic message. You need to listen for yourself and make your own opinion.

Mkaes, my point is not about system synergy. Let me be very clear -- with regards to music reproduction, the sonic differences between better quality components is small. Audiophiles magnify these small differences to the point where, if you just listen to how we talk, you would think there were night and day type differences between components. BTW, when I say better quality components I don't just mean the top of the high-end, my comments apply to components costing as little as $1,500.