Nrchy, Ivor wasn't exactly unbiased. His primary goal was to sell turntables. What do you think he would say?
Assume you are correct that the source is most important and all the other elements in the chain only degrade the signal. Can't you at least admit that the speakers would be second in importance, simply because they have more potential to screw up the sound than any other component? To say speakers are the least important component (less than cables?) seems disingenuous to me.
Like others have said, balance is the key. Every component must be of high quality or the weakest one will define the character of the system.
Assume you are correct that the source is most important and all the other elements in the chain only degrade the signal. Can't you at least admit that the speakers would be second in importance, simply because they have more potential to screw up the sound than any other component? To say speakers are the least important component (less than cables?) seems disingenuous to me.
Like others have said, balance is the key. Every component must be of high quality or the weakest one will define the character of the system.