I have to disagree with all of the above. Nothing will influence the sound more than the speakers themselves. Would you connect a Krell amp to a pair of PSB alphas? A good speaker will reveal all the good and bad that your electronics have to offer, but you won't hear that Krell with a $200 bookshelf. After that, go for the source next. Getting into serious interconnects/speaker cable only makes sense when the rest is done right. 1)$26000 2)%15 3)%12 4)12% 5+6)11% 7)%45 8)%5 Room treatment is also most often ignored, but is usually one of the greatest influences. It's also not very practical for most of us(ie: spouse/pets/cost) and is the one area I do nothing about either. And when you're done driving yourself crazy with combinations, grab a beverage, forget about the equipment, and enjoy some fine tunes. Shayne.
Proportional Allocation to Total System
Dear fellow audiophile/music lover, We all know the fact that the audio system is serial chain and the rule of the game is simple. Minimize the loss and unwelcome addition. I believe your contribution here will help other audiophile/music lover. Could you divide your total system (primary chain only) by following categories and state the percentage of money allocation? 1) Total MSRP of your system 2) Source 3) Pre-amp 4) Power-amp 5) Inter connect 6) Speaker cable 7) Speakers 8) Others. Would you also state which link is most important and why? My Current system: 1) $9200 2) 10.87% 3) 16.3% 4) 16.3% 5) 4.35% 6) 8.7% 7) 32.61% 8) 10.87% My own observations: 1) Equal amount on source and others. 2) Equal amount on amplification and speakers. I think speaker cables are subject to most loss if you don’t allocate sufficient amount. I’ve tested single and double run of Kimber 8TC on ten different systems and always able to hear big difference.