Well, now for a contrarian point of view regarding this old chicken vs egg argument. Obviously the room is the most important item, however I never bought Ivor's argument for one reason - If you pick high quality, neutral and revealing speakers to match your room, you can (and probably will) change your electronics to tailor your sound - or not -and you'll always hears the difference(s). But if you have poor speakers all you will hear is poor sound and you won't know why, let alone what the differences are in the electronics that you are paying for.! A quality pair of well chosen speakers can easily last 15 to 25 years - 2 to three times longer than your electronics will. The only hitch to this is that getting these speakers first will sort of demand that you assemble high quality electronics and sources which might be a financial burden for some.
Next Biggest Improvement after Speakers ?
I know that different speakers offer the biggest and most dramatic difference and/or sonic improvement over other components in a system.
In your opinion, from personal experience, what component[s] usually offers the NEXT biggest sonic difference and/or improvements: Front end? Preamp? Power amplifier? Interconnects and Cables?
In what order,[most to least]?
In your opinion, from personal experience, what component[s] usually offers the NEXT biggest sonic difference and/or improvements: Front end? Preamp? Power amplifier? Interconnects and Cables?
In what order,[most to least]?