Rbyington I get your analogy perfectly and just recently improving my source improved everything else down the line especially my enjoyment of listening to my favourite music however all source components are not created equal .
A new and improved dac didn’t do it , neither did new speakers or wires or anything else to the extent that I got from improving source components IE Innuos Zenith 3 server and the all in one box Innuos Phoenix USB regenerator, power supplies and data clock.
Of course like a quality camera lens and choice of fine grain slide film back in the day the quality of the recording itself is equally important.
A new and improved dac didn’t do it , neither did new speakers or wires or anything else to the extent that I got from improving source components IE Innuos Zenith 3 server and the all in one box Innuos Phoenix USB regenerator, power supplies and data clock.
Of course like a quality camera lens and choice of fine grain slide film back in the day the quality of the recording itself is equally important.