Sam, most of the guys who were over last night would agree with you. But we never really spoke about system budget, or exactly how much you should spend on each component in a system. Just what is most important, FIRST. Just to play devils advocate, how do you think this would work out, using your example of modest amp and budget speakers with a GOOD CDP/Turntable? Vandersteen 2Ce, Bryston 3B-ST, and a Resoluton Audio CD50 in a room 11 x 9 x 7 with no acoustic treatments and hard plaster walls? My buddy has this exact set up, and no matter what he tries,the sound is terrible. Last week I took my pair of Dunlavy SC-I (monitor sized speakers in the same price range as the Vandersteens) over to his place along with a package of mini roomtunes, and guess what? Greatly improved sound, with little fuss, because the speakers are a better match for the room. NOW he can really hear the benefits of upgrading his front end, amplification, wires, etc. So in this case, what was more important? Getting a great front end FIRST, or correctly matching the speakers to the room FIRST? Of course Sam, you are 100% correct when you say *garbage in, garbage out* but ONLY if the speakers AND the room allow you to hear the difference. In other words, when I say that the SPEAKER/ROOM INTERFACE is MOST important, I'm not saying that you should spend MORE on speakers than on a great front end. Just that without a proper room and speaker match, nothing else seems to matter much. The debate continues.....Robert K.
What's most important?
I had some friends over last night, and we started to discuss the different things that go into assembling a high quality stereo playback system. The level of disagreement, and the heated discourse, was both fun and surprising. Here is what I think, in order from most important, to least: 1).THE ROOM/SPEAKER INTERFACE- choosing the right speaker, and placing it properly in an acoustically "sound" room with a dedicated power line. If this is wrong (like a Wilson Grand Slamm in 12 x 12 x 8 room) well, then why bother with the rest. 2). THE SPEAKER/AMP INTERFACE- this is a close second, and depending on the circumstances, might even be first. If there is a REAL problem here(like low impedance/sensitivity speakers w/SET amps) nothing else will matter much. 3). THE AMP/PREAMP INTERFACE- again, this seems to be the next place where things can go really wrong in an audio system. 4) SOURCE COMPONENTS- I know, this is lower on my list than most people would like, and I don't mean to infer that source components don't affect the quality of a playback system. Of course they do. I just feel that if the above issues have not been addressed, then simply throwing a reference quality source into the system might not be the best way to maximize the potential of said system. 5). INTERCONNECTS AND SPEAKER WIRE 6). ISOLATON DEVICES, A/C CORDS, POWER CONDITIONERS, AND OTHER VARIOUS TWEAKS.....Well there it is. Again, in an ideal system, ALL of the above issues would (should) be addressed sooner or later. But how would you prioritize things, and why? Release the hounds........Robert K.