Speakers The single most critical component


I know we've been over this Q hundreds of X's over the past 20 years here on audion, You can find dozen of topics dealing with this Q <which is the ,,,,most important component...>>
well time for yet 1 more topic dealing with this,, perhaps unanswered, un-resolved issue.
I'm bringing up the old hachet due to my recent experience acutally hearinga FR in my system. 
Let me tell you, there is not even 1 traditional/conventioanl/xover design <The Boxed Type>> in the world that could convince me  , there is something that will beat out FR (caveat, FR requires  some sort of high sens =sensitivity, tweeter)  in  the Boxy world of speakers.
That is to say, FR + Compression Horn is the future of 21st Century high fidelity. 
One lab has already brought us these ~~~SHF~~~ aka SuperHighFidelity  single drivers. 
The code word here is ~~SHF~~~ which can not never be employed when describing xover/trad/conventioanl style  aka The Box designs. db level under 91 are _<<IN-EFFICIENT>> , = dysfunctional, out dated, old school , = Dinasaurs. 
For amps, I only consider tube amps (PP and SET) as ~~SHF~~~ I can not include ss amps in this topic. 
IMHO all well made tube amps sound very close,
 a  kt88 in brand X will sound  close to brand Y. 
So amplification takes a  distant 2nd place in critical component.  No need to break the bank buying amp A vs  a  lower priced kt88 amp B
CD players, nearly all  tube DAC's , tube cdp-ers sound  close. No need to braek the bank over X vs Y.
My Jadis DAC is  only miniscule gain over the Shanling,
 the Shanling
only a  miniscule gain over the Cayin CD17. 
Now as for  best source  , phonograph is the ideal playback medium vs cds. 
I have some LP's now , but my main collection are classical cds, most not on LP version. Cables , I did note some gains employing silver/copper wiring throughout my entire system including inside the Defy.
Tweak worthy.
New Mundorf caps in all componets, tweak worthy. 
Yet the main central component remaisn the speakers.
Here is where  the entire audio resolution either rises to Nirvana or falls to <<distortion/muddy waters,/pollution/anti-fidelity  voicing  issues.
Your system's fidelity is ultimately dependent on what speaker  you have chosen to employ.
Forget all you've learned over the years, 
The new mantra is <,The speaker is key component>
All else is just extra tweaks/nuances. 
To sum up, a  ~~SHF~~ driver will match even the top of line Wilson weighing in at hundreds of lbs priced $$$$$$$ overa single FR driver. 
FR beats out any/all xover box design speakers. Mostly due to that key specification ~~db level~~~ which is everything in speaker design and thus in resolution/fidelity. 

mozartfan

Showing 5 responses by orpheus10


When I upgrade the cartridge, better sound comes out of the speaker. When I upgrade the phono, better sound comes out of the speaker. When I upgrade the pre-amp, better sound comes out of the speaker. I've had the same speakers since 2000, but they keep sounding better, maybe I got magical speakers?

If we are talking about ultimate audio,(ultimate for my pocketbook) and speaking of order of importance: the cartridge would be first, followed by TT, followed by phono pre, followed by preamp, followed by power amp, and last the speakers.

The speakers will display whatever the preceding components present to them. The speakers are followers, not leaders, therefore, out of that batch of components, they are the least important.

In terms of expense, I would like for the cartridge, TT, and phono-pre to be as much as I could squeeze out, hopefully rated Class A or B by Stereophile, no lower than Class B (that's my frame of reference) same for pre-amp and power-amp. Some of us have unlimited budgets, I don't, and since speakers are suppose to follow the leaders, that's where I go with a good pair of neutral speaker, not the most expensive. In my scheme of things, speakers come in last relative to expensive components.

Audiophiles can be divided into two camps; equipment lovers and music lovers. Equipment lovers may not be aware of that fact, but they use music to hear equipment, not equipment to hear music; consequently, those of us who are music lovers may have to make that determination as to whether or not they are one or the other.

An inordinate emphasis on the importance of speakers is a clue, but not a verification. When they go all over the map on different types and brands of speakers, that's a verification that they are indeed "equipment lovers"; especially when each speaker changes the music dramatically. If a person likes all those different types of speakers, he's a speaker lover, not a music lover.

East is East, and West is West, as the saying goes, and never the twain shall meet, and so it is with equipment lovers and music lovers.

It seems that some of the best speakers, according to "Stereophile" cost in the vicinity of 20K.

My speakers are custom built with a crossover designed by a crossover engineer. They are designed to have no sound of their own, just the sound of the music. This is not something I recommend, it took 10 years to get it just right, but they do what they're supposed to do.

Every thing begins at the beginning; when you read a sentence, do you start at the period and go backwards? If vinyl, the signal begins at the cartridge, therefore it's the most important, and from there on down the line until the signal leaves the speaker as music. That makes the speaker the least important.

Do you think you could get good sound from a lousy cartridge and turntable with the worlds best speaker?

As expensive as the best speakers are, it's for certain I'll never own one; however I will own competitive gear up the rest of the signal chain.