Is it possible for something to be the best?

There is always a best in every category. If you don't believe me, simply as a manufacturer of any product and they'll surely be able to tell you what is best and why : ) Sean
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Nrchy, with a moniker like that, i assumed that you wouldn't mind someone throwing a little "chaos" into your thread : )

Honestly though, i have messed around with enough gear to come to the conclusion that there is no "best". It is how each individual component melds together in the system. I have heard "top notch" components assembled into a system that sounded like crap. I've also heard systems composed of "budget" gear that absolutely smoked. As such, i've come to put less faith in reputation / brand names / individual performance and learned to live by trial and error. The only thing that brand names / reputation / individual performance may give you is an idea of what the house sound of that company may be. Whether or not you like it or it is compatible with the rest of your system would be personal. As was mentioned earlier in the thread, that would make it someone's "personal best within the confines of that system in that room". Whether or not someone could duplicate those same results with an identical system in another room with different AC is another story. There can be a "best" under only VERY specific conditions. Sean
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Since personal opinions are based on subjective qualities, Nrchy's statement about "supported fact" would mean that one could only base "good" or "bad" products on something that was quantifiable i.e. test bench measurements.

Since we all know that:

A) specifications can't give us all the answers with the current testing procedures that we have

and

B) we all hear things slightly differently and have different takes on how things "should" sound

the only logical conclusion would be:

C) there is no way to call ANY audio component "the best". After all, you can never listen to ONE component without their being other influences on how it performs and what you hear. It all operates as a system and should be judged as such. That is why "system synergy" is what matters and NOT what brands / models you use to get there. Bottom line is "does this SYSTEM perform as it should ?". If it doesn't, you might have to change individual components. Changing individual components may effect the system as a whole, but you will never hear that component by itself or know exactly what each piece is contributing to the total presentation. There are just TOO many interactive variables taking place at one time to try to quantify the situation

As such, one should buy & use what works "best" for them in the confines of their system and personal preferences regardless of measurements, brand names or costs. The only constraint to this is that we would obviously all be stuck with "the BEST that i could afford within the confines of my room, system and personal tastes". Sean
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PS... I've got the "best" system in MY house to MY ears. There is nothing "subjective" about that, as it is pure "fact" and uncontestable : )