What is the most important component to consider while building a new system?

feel they bring a personalized touch to the discussions of all things audio. In the video mentioned Paul took a generalized approach in stating the speakers were the most important component to consider and that the relevant importance of each successive component rested in the chain down stream of the speakers. I am writing this to humbly disagree.


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may i also humbly disagree with your opinion.
= I have 40 yrs off/on, in this hobby, And based on my experience speakers are like 80%++ of the equation. 
IOW simply stated speakers are
~~~~~~~~everything~~~~~~~~~~~
My 2 cents.
amp  discussions bore me to death. 
IMHO
One PP  tube amp is just as good as another PP  tube amp. (generally speaking , comes down to quality of build =  repair thing, we do not want repairs)

actual sound being produced in the room, and that is always the speaker


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Exactly, 
You could take jadis' finest compoments, well over $100G's. , tap into a  brand xyz speaker, and thats all you'll get 
is a generic crappy sound. 

Would best phono, amp/source hooked up to a Vandersteen, will sound exactly like a  **Vandersteen* image, 
No thanks!!
AS Troels says, **past 50 yrs the speakers have been a  source of bad distortion in our music**
(paraphrase mine)

The most neutral speaker wins the shootout, Its not rocket science folks. 

berner99133 posts07-15-2021 4:01pmSpeakers are the only component that can determine the radiation pattern of how sound is distributed in your room.


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Can’t say it any clearer than berner99 just did.

speakersspeakerspeakers
Completely forget amp shootouts, digital shootouts.
Thats all nothing but nuances. Nothing more.
Whereas speakers are all the way from grossly, distortion to disgustingly distorted to OK, nothing great, and on to Nirvana pure bliss.
Every single speaker lab will havea certain characteristic sound.
A Wilson will always sound like a Wilson, no matter what model you choose.
ProAc = all ProAc’s,.
Etc.
AER = all AER’s, All Voxativ = all Voxativ.
So forget lab A PP amp sounding so much different vs Lab B PP amp.
Tube CD player A vs Tube DAC B.
Nothing but slight nuances.
The only component that makes a giganitic modification in how the sound , is the speakers.
All other components are nothing but nuances, nothing more.
Not sure if I can be any clearer.
Changing speaker labs will result in a ~~~modification of sound~~~, Not a nuance. A real substantial mod.
~~Speakers are everything~~~~
Amp discussions bore me to death.

ps566 posts07-16-2021 8:46pmI reiterate- no speakers, no music.  Seems obvious but hey this is an "audiophile" forum, hence "common sense" is often not all that common.


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And 50 yrs later we are still asking this Q..

Let this thread be the final word on this matter.
Yet for some reason, amplifiers continue to facinate audiophiles interests..
Why???
Discussions on amplifiers bore me to death.
I like EL34/KT88/KT120's about equal, any PP amp under 50 watts is all thats needed. 
Pick your lab, they are all ~~~about~~~ equal in terms of sound.

The only thing   important when choosinga  amp is build quality/reputation. 
Thats it, and of course price. 
A $7k intergrated is not any much superior to a  $1500 intergrated in terms of sound.
Its what you can afford. 
Speakers, here is the problem. 
You can throw  tons of money intoa  speaker, and still get less than a  much lower price speaker that does not have the distortion issues a  speaker 10X's its price.
IOW 
a  $3k speaker can  out shoot a  $30k speaker, only due to The Distortion factor. 
My speaker of choice is  magnesium cone midwoofers, due to its extremely low  coloration/dampening  character. 
Any paper material I will not like as it sounds like speakers from the 1970's and all the issues of those early  cone materials.