"what one component will offer the most beneficial change ?" I'd say the speaker.
From my empirical knowledge:
Doing the math, I used to think that a 10 watt amp mated with 100 db speakers would produce the same dynamics as a 100 watt amp with 90 db speaker. I mean, it's math. 2 + 3 is the same as 9 - 4. Didn't work out that way to my ears.
I had 1000 watt monoblocks driving my Maggie 3.6's (85 db). In the same room during the same time period, I had 10 SET watts driving some custom studio monitors (low 90's). No contest. The 10 wpc/90+ db was more dynamic than the 1000 wpc/85 db.
I suppose it depends on your "strict" definition of dynamics. The 1000/85 could play louder, that's what 1000 watts can do. Dynamics to me mean how fast a speaker can go from, say, 60 to 85 db. To me, a higher eff speaker does it better than a lower one.
From my empirical knowledge:
Doing the math, I used to think that a 10 watt amp mated with 100 db speakers would produce the same dynamics as a 100 watt amp with 90 db speaker. I mean, it's math. 2 + 3 is the same as 9 - 4. Didn't work out that way to my ears.
I had 1000 watt monoblocks driving my Maggie 3.6's (85 db). In the same room during the same time period, I had 10 SET watts driving some custom studio monitors (low 90's). No contest. The 10 wpc/90+ db was more dynamic than the 1000 wpc/85 db.
I suppose it depends on your "strict" definition of dynamics. The 1000/85 could play louder, that's what 1000 watts can do. Dynamics to me mean how fast a speaker can go from, say, 60 to 85 db. To me, a higher eff speaker does it better than a lower one.