Poll: Most impactful component

Agreed....the "weakest link" theory still applies, and the speakers are what interacts with the room and the amplifier, so I’d still focus on speakers with the understanding that you still need to build the system around them. The system will never be great until that weakest link is pretty good, and synergizes well with everything else.

Right now my source is the weakest component. But my room is not great either.

Source is usually easier to fix, so work on both... 😎

This hobby is very personal. Then why do we rely on equipment reviews and base our buying decisions on other’s opinions? Every system is different. It must take obsessive iterations in YOUR room and YOUR system to answer this question. That’s the lesson I’ve learned so far. Thanks.

^^^^This!^^^

That’s an excellent insight that many take years to realize. Others never do. For some it’s more comforting to rely on someone else’s experience or measurements than to trust their own observations, but that’s usually just a path to something that’s not very personal or particularly satisfying. We are each mostly on our own to figure out our particular puzzle. You nailed it, and will do well sticking with it because YOU are the only one you need to please in this.