The most musical system that I have heard so far was an SME/MIT/Magico dealer demo. The front end was an SME 10 tt with the stock 309 arm, stock tonearm cable, a $600 Dynavector cartridge and no special isolation. The phono stage was the top Nagra VPS? Electronics were mid-level Spectral and the speakers were Magico's least expensive V2. I concluded from this listening session that system synergy is of primary importance and that the tonearm cable, an expensive cartridge and exotic isolation were not critical to a truly musical experience. One month later, I went to hear the system again and to confirm my impressions of the speakers which I am considering buying. However, this time the dealer had replaced the $600 cartridge with one costing $3,500. To my surprise, the magic was completely gone.
I am also struck by how different (and less musical) my system sounds, given that it has a similar vinyl front end, SS electronics and dynamic speakers.
It can be tempting to think of a chain of importance for a vinyl front end or for the system as a whole, but I am coming around to thinking that it really comes down to how carefully components are selected to work with each other and within the context of a given system and room. Everything seems important except the cost of components.
I am also struck by how different (and less musical) my system sounds, given that it has a similar vinyl front end, SS electronics and dynamic speakers.
It can be tempting to think of a chain of importance for a vinyl front end or for the system as a whole, but I am coming around to thinking that it really comes down to how carefully components are selected to work with each other and within the context of a given system and room. Everything seems important except the cost of components.