Which is the most important part of a stereo system?

I don’t use cables either so scratch cables.

I use headphones so the room is of no use to me. Scratch the room. Also scratch speakers.

Actually I don’t use power outlets so chances are good they aren’t the most important thing.

The power outlet.  Without it, nothing else would matter.

Room.  The room is usually the hardest to change.  The room will dictate speaker and listener placement.
Once that is determined, a savvy buyer will consider speakers (including subwoofers) that will perform optimally in the chosen room.  Sound dispersion, wall, floor and ceiling reflections and absorption treatments, bass traps, subwoofer system and room loading, digital room correction will all be considered.
Once the speaker selection is pared down to those that will complement the room, the buyer will select speakers that sound "good" to him/her (or maybe look good).  Once that is settled, a good audio dealer will be able to hook you up with appropriate amplification for the chosen speakers.  Source should be considered last, as it is the easiest to change.
Note:  it is amazing how even inexpensive speakers can sound fantastic when pulled away from the walls and reflective surfaces and into the middle of the room.  I have a couple of Harbeth P3 speakers that are easy to move (I can't leave them in the middle of the room, so I put them back when I am done listening).  In that nearfield position, with me on a chair away from the back wall, It is very hard to imagine anything that could sound much better (well, actually I can, but tube amplified horn-loaded compression drivers with a custom crossover or Wilson Chronosonics driven by D'Agostino M-400s is fairly out of my budget - and wouldn't fit in my room anyhow)!

I recently setup a pair of $26.00 3 way 12 inch woofer  speakers into another room than my usual.

6 feet apart and sitting in the sweet spot.

The sound was gloriuosly surprising.

Airy..holographic...coming from forward behind and the sides...speakers disapeared...etc...

OP
2 that I am familiar with (either their integrates or as separates include; Parasound (A23 + P5) and Elac (I own the Audio Alchemy DDP-1 + PS 5 : Parasound include dac/phono, but Elac includes Streaming and their amp can be turned into mono with a flip of a switch, should you want more power with their matching amp. The Elac is true balanced!


Underwood HiFi sells the Elac among it’s many products, all with very good discounts
hth

Terry9, and anyone else who thinks cables are least important:

you couldn’t be more wrong, however, it is true that much of what is being sold as hi-end cables can often hurt the sound. Believe me I know, but when cables are designed by people who actually understand the inherent obstacles to producing quality cables the music benefits. If/when there are diminishing returns it is at the very top of a cable line (when they typically cost as much as a car)

My preference is WireWorld, who offers several series to fit your budget. Also, about a year ago, they introduced Series 8. I have seen a good amount of used Series 7 as some people feel compelled to upgrade


hth

It is the SPEAKERS it's an oversimplification this is where the sound comes from. Paul at PS Audio states the same thing.  If you upgrade your speakers you will hear an improvement that should be significant.

If you take a $300 streamer and $3000 streamer most people cannot hear a difference even with a revealing system but with poor speakers, you will not discern the difference.

I think it's like the old SLR cameras the body of the camera just controls the shutter so the money you put into the body of the camera didn't make that much difference a Nikon or pin hole. But it was the Lens that actually captured the image great lens great image. 

Great speakers great sound. It's like what Kevin at Upscale Audio says $40,000 turntable with a $400 cart is a $400 turntable that might be the exception to the rule

Turntables still -why?? Clicks pops.....

You seem to be implying that the gap between different systems is smaller than the gap between different rooms.

First thanks cd318 for your kind observation and attention to myself and posts...


But you underestimated what I say, and unvoluntarily misrepresented it...


You underestimated my argument because it is not about room treatment but about 3 simultaneous embeddings...And room treatment is only the point 3a, there are other 3 points: 3b,1, and 2.

These 4 points grouped in 3 parts define what I called the embeddings of any audio system...


You misrepresented my argument because, it will need a fool or someone who delude himself, to negate differences, great ones most of the times, between a low cost system and a highly costly one...

My argument is simply this: the difference between most audio systems is big, but not big enough most of the times to compared with an audio system rightly embedded according to the rules pertaining to these 4 points in 3 part embeddings...

If there is 3 rungs in the scale going to low, mid, and high, any electronic component pertaining to a rung of this scale is different with another on the same rung...But rightly embedded anyone of this element go from a rung to a higher rung entirely if it is rightly embedded with the 3 implementation protocols and parts pertaining to each one of these 4 methods :


1-The mechanical environment of each electronic component (vibrations-resonances controls)

2-The electrical grid of the room and of the house

3a-the "passive" room treatment with materials absorbant and reflective ones

3b-the "active" acoustical space modifications with reflectors, Helmholtz resonators, Schumann generators,etc
(We must not confuse room treatment 3a with acoustical space modifications 3b.)


In the universal race to upgrade and buy the ultimate high electronic components, people forget or ignore the right way to implement an audio system... The proof of that is simple: most people think that a better dac or amplifier or speakers will give to them the better sound magically by itself...The entire marketing industry promote that....Marginally someone speaks, generally to sell something, about vibrations or room treatment...Rarely about these 2 on the same page or article...And this 2 points are only half of my argument (4 points in 3 parts).. Then most people are unconscious of this fact: the real experience of an audiophile musical event is not the results of the electronics components only and "per se" but by far the results of a rightful implementation of them... The proof of that is easy to make....Which do you want: a mid system in an ideal room and house controlled environment ? Or a high cost system in a bad house room environment?

My most important point is that it is possible by homemade methods and materials or with very low cost products to create a complete relatively good implementation that will transform any audio system into his ideal peak potential working function...At least then projecting it on another rung of the scale quality ratio/ price...This is my experience and good news...Interpreting that like a negation of the difference in quality between for example an amplifier like my Sansui versus a Top high end ZOTL Berning amplifier( I dream to buy one) is simplistic...There is differences between electronic components...But it is not the important half of the story...This is my point...I live happy now with my Sansui...Guess why?


My best wishes to you....


" My car is bigger than your male organ" Groucho Marx

The room is one thing I don't have to worry about.  Sounds great!

Thanks!

@mahgister, I enjoyed reading your post but it doesn’t seem to be entirely logical. I agree that a good sound reproduction does not have to cost the earth but your ideas about importance seem just a little ’left field’.

You seem to be implying that the gap between different systems is smaller than the gap between different rooms.

I might not have great memories of my time with my Linn LP12 but I can’t believe that it would have ever sounded worse than my Rega Planar 1 - whatever the room or treatment. They were just on different levels altogether.

I suppose we all also have different ideas as to what makes a good room. Some might prefer a relatively dead room and others like me preferring a little bit more life in the room.

Anyway, thanks for sharing.

I agree with 
analogluvr

02-08-2020 3:39pmI’d say speakers then source then pre then amps

I think once you nail the speaker sound you love - then source can always be upgraded to match. I think my current system the speakers are 45-50% of overall budget. (at RRP)

Which is the most important part of a stereo system?

I wish someone had clearly told me the answer at the start of my trip in audio...That would had spare me money and time...


The most important part of a stereo system is not any of the electronic components, turntable, dac, computer, amplifier, speakers....( For sure choose them with care but after that forget them, dont upgrade, and begins the thinking process with what you owns)


The most important part of a stereo system is invisible to the eyes but very audible to the ears...


The most important part of a stereo system is these 3 embeddings for any stereo system whatsoever :


1-The mechanical environment of each electronic component (vibrations-resonances controls)

2-The electrical grid of the room and of the house

3a-the "passive" room treatment with materials absorbant and reflective ones
3b-the "active" acoustical space modifications with reflectors, Helmholtz resonators, Schumann generators,etc

(An important remark: Room treatment with absorbant or reflective materials and non conventional acoustical space modifications with Schumann modified generators and controls with Helmholtz resonators or different resonators and reflectors are not the same thing. We must not confuse room treatment with acoustical space modifications.)

This is what I learned, a good electronic component will work like any other good electronic component, and the upgrading of one will never rival with these three embeddings right implementation; absolutely no comparison in increasing S.Q. with an upgrade of any electronic component...

Embedding a system is the way....The Tao of audio....

Dont buy anything before thinking about that and experimenting....

The good news is that it is possible to afford Hi-Fi at low cost, buying used, vintage or simply low cost good components... I know I did that...It is also possible to create homemade low cost solutions for all of these 3 embeddings...I know I did precisely that... 

The most important is the embeddings not the brand name of the electronic components at all ( for sure we all have our likings but it is only anecdotal interest, because they are plenty of very good electronic components)...

In simple word, your ear is the only true guru in audio and you must seriously listen to him ...

My best...



" My ear know more than me" Groucho Marx

@audioman58 , yes I think everyone would agree that mastering matters.

It's virtually impossible to make poorly mastered records sound good - no matter what the size of your endless  audio money pit may be. 

We also happen to be fortunate to be living in a time when the gap between budget and high-end amplification and digital sources/converters/cables is almost indistinguishable too. 

What are we left with then?

Loudspeakers and vinyl playback. 

No one would argue that budget and high-end speakers and decks can be confused in any listening tests.

Even today's constantly improved entry level Rega/Pro-Ject decks (or any sub $500 loudspeaker you can think of for that matter) still leave considerable room for future upgrading. 

This hobby is far from dead, and we haven't even begun talking about Tube amps.

https://youtu.be/vCk12xzivp8

The front end records,or digital is where  your music starts ,you can’t makeup downstream any shortcomings,therefor it better be optimumbefore going to the preamp section.

The room. 
I’ve head so-so systems sound wonderful in a great room and amazing gear in a poor room sound meh. 
Everything matters absolutely but the rooms acoustics make it all possible.  

There is no most important component. They call it a stereo “system” for a reason. My own approach is to figure out what the weak link is and address that next. It’s a never-ending project and the improvements get smaller and smaller but my ability to hear them gets better and better. 
That said,I can remember getting three big jumps in SQ over the past 20 years, that you might cogitate over before chasing boxes. 

1. A hospital grade wall outlet. A genuine WTF moment. No PC ever made as much difference as the outlet itself did.
2. Antivibration under the pre-amp. Iin my system it has mattered there more than anywhere else.

3. Perfect Path contact enhancer applied as the maker recommends it. An astonishing product, but you’ll never find it again. The maker died this winter and apparently the formula passed on with him. The entire community should be sad about that one. It turned out I purchased one of his very last tubes. 
but that is with my system. For someone else it might be something else. Tthere is no magic amp or pre or speaker out there that will transform a system. 
I could add a fourth — a well produced  recording. The better your system is,the more you are at the mercy of the production quality of whatever you’re listening to.

....and jeffvegas lives in 'a van down by the river'...

A highly armored one... *tease*  It's best to stay mobile with max'd cards....;)

If you are going to buy on credit, at least make sure your home or renters’ insurance will cover said equipment in case of theft, power spike (or good surge protection) fire or other act of God. 
I’d hate for anyone to be paying off debt on something they don’t even own anymore or can’t use. 

Audioguy is correct. Get 4 to 5 high limit credit cards with cash back or some kind of rewards. Max them all out on some high end audio gear. The amp is 10 grand but you make 60 grand a year? No problem use the card. Speakers 10 grand? Not an issue. Max another card out. Its the most important part of my system. 

It’s called a credit card....get one with zero percent for 21 months....then you can get a 2500 to 6000 dollar amp...credit cards are good tools if used wisely and lots of them give generous points back on purchases well a as a nice sign up bonus. For instance spend 1000 get 250 back or spend 500 get 150 back.....Like getting a nice discount on what you want. At 21 months @ zero % I’d say that’s a pretty nice deal. If not paid in 21 months, just transfer remaining balance to another good card offer and so on and so on....I always read posts whereas the person says I’ll never be able to get this or that etc...well you can if you use credit responsibly. Another good example is Music Direct. Every holiday they run a 0 % financing for up to 3 years!... probably the best deal in town. But, I guess I can see how some are afraid of debt...you only go this way once, life is short etc etc 😁

Did any one mension, your ears  I'm no spring chicken and before I would spend crazy money on cables and power cords etc, I'd get my ears checked. As you might not hear that much difference. I did have mine checked, not bad for my age, but not like they use to be!! 

Hegel H190 should also work. I have only heard the H590 but that was good.

I did hear Arcam SA30 which is also an amp  with streaming (roon endpoint).

"We now return you to our regularly scheduled misinformation." Miller, that was good for a chuckle....keep em’ coming. Not enough lighthearted posting here. Everyone will have their own opinion on this topic. Personally, I subscribe to the speakers as numero uno and have always built my systems from them on out.
Larry

speakers.

they don't claim neutrality, they claim frequency range, efficiency, beauty, innovative vibration reduction ....

never a need to concentrate much to hear the differences between speakers when driven from the same system.

real concentration/experimentation/component swapping is needed for source components, nearly all claiming true fidelity/neutrality.

I order:  HD source(or turntable), then speakers, then amp, the rest .  With that being said, the speakers change the sound the most and it is a matter of taste.

@shangyien said "The weakest part of your system is the most important."

My thoughts exactly.

With the arrival of digital sources many have now come to accept that transducers (loudspeakers, cartridges, arms, turntables and microphones) are where you will find the bottlenecks in modern audio playback systems. (Room acoustics and source mastering are also important but perhaps separate issues here.)

In much the same way that traditional rotating hard drives are now accepted as generally the major bottleneck (ahead of both RAM and processor speed) in PCs.

Differences in all digital playback sound (or even in amplifiers) are barely measurable let alone readily identifiable in listening tests.

On the other hand the sonic differences between loudspeakers and turntables (arms/cartridges) are difficult to deny.

So having said that, your idea of upgrading your Pro-Ject to something like a Technics 1210 makes great sense.

Upgrading your B&W speakers on the other hand is going to be more of a challenge as far as I can see. Especially if you want across the board improvements including both dynamics and bandwidth.

It can be done and if successful, it will be worthwhile in simply that everything played back through them will sound better.

Maybe that could be a project for a future day? Certainly plenty, almost infinite number of candidates out there including various Harbeths, PMCs, Tannoys, JBLs, ATCs, Wilson’s, Zu’s, larger B&W’s etc

All with very little consensus as to what’s best.

OIL first! oh wait... wrong forum. ;-)

Here is my prospective on what's the most important part of a great sounding hifi system.
You can easily find excellent source, or amplifier, or speakers or cables.  However, there are not so many good sounding preamplifiers and they make enormous difference for the quality of sound, even if you only use digital source. 

Too hard to answer. Every component is critically important. Without one, you have nothing.

I’m agree with roberjerman. The source is very important, but all the little things are very important, cables to. Don’t forget the speakers: everything has to match..  and than finding like a puzzle, the best pieces. Sometimes a lot of work to find the right “click”. Enjoy your music!!!

Your wife’s ears.

I do not have decades of experience, but I am into the thought that one should strike a balance in quality among all gear in the system, within a budget. If you have 5K and spend 3K on a turntable or a pair of speakers, then you're left with not enough money for your other sources, preamp, amp, interconnects, power, etc. So what good is an expensive turntable if you have crappy gear downstream; conversely, what good is a pair of expensive speakers if you have weak components upstream? If the budget is very limited, the more the need to be careful, even audition the gear, as one is most probably buying entry-level stuff. Another way of doing it is one could conceive of a really nice system even if it is out of budget at the moment. And then at one's own pace acquire the components one at a time. With this direction taken, if one wishes, a system could be built around a favorite pair of speakers. (I myself believe that upstream components should positively work to help the speakers sound their best.) It takes patience but it pays in the end. I built a system in 2 years and I'm happy to have planned my steps and waited.  It's another story for the rich of course. 

Which is the most important part of a stereo system?

 Your Wallet?

The weakest part of your system is the most important.

I own the 1210 GR...it’s a fit and forget audiophile TT.  It’s maintenance free and bulletproof.  Sound on mine with a Bronze Cartridge is incredible.  Buy it yesterday!

I find that everything matters.

For me, the most important thing is the amp/speaker interface. Get it right and you are on your way to a system that can sing. Get this wrong and well, you may never get it right.

@Terry9
 I definitely built a few sets of speakers, back in the day. Going to try single ended boutique amp kit next maybe with or from a Nelson pass design. 

I'd go speakers first followed closely by the room itself.  Find your taste in the sound of the speakers you like--everyone is not the same where that is concerned.  All the other stuff is important, just not as important as those 2 things.  Know what particular cables do especially well helps to get it right near the end of assembling a system.  

Bob

@klimt for integrated amps with dacs

Modwright KWI 200 hybrid with dac is $6200 new, but used is under $5000

Hegel h390 class a/b with dac and streamer functionality is $6000 new 

NAD m33 class d with dac and streaming and bluetooth functionality is $5500 new

All admittedly over your budget but only marginally and imho worth a stretch 

As a manufacturer of audio components, I was a firm believer of the source because I felt that all tone and sound stage came from there first.  You know garbage in and garbage out.  My partner and I recently built a hybrid 6SN7 power amp - think Counterpoint but way more advanced and two our items to a buyer.  He loved the DAC the preamp and power amp.  He had them there for a few weeks and he concluded that the amp was where he would start first.  So away we go!

Happy Listening.

Millercarbon probably offers the best.

Probably???!

Lots of good advice here. Millercarbon probably offers the best. For the last several decades I've been through many different audio setups and equipment have learned that one single component or cable doesn't make or break the sound that you want (unless that component is defective).
One example.....I once had a pair of speakers that I really liked but the amp driving them was old and sub par by many respects. So, I bought a really good and more costly amp. The sound wasn't nearly as good (to me) as that from the old amp. SYNERGY is the key.
One single upgrade may improve your sound but everything must work together as a "team". If you have the chance to audition a component in your system and in YOUR room that is the perfect scenario. But that can be a daunting task. There are dealers out there that offer that.
Good luck to you. Remember......good sound is what YOU think it is.

Deschutes, why not DIY your electronics? I would say that the main thing is to stay away from teflon insulation, because when teflon heats up past about 450F, it begins to decompose into some really evil gasses. And unless you have a fume hood or equivalent protection, well ...

What @almarg said. I suggest not spending disproportionately on anything that (1) wears out, or (2) has low benefit per unit cost, like cables.

 So I’m definitely not in the audiophile major leagues like most of you guys, meaning I don’t now or probably will not ever have 10k+ to spend on my system. However I’m definitely an audiophile and used to build Martin Logan speakers in the 80s when I was at KU in Lawrence Kansas. I definitely got the bug listening to krell, audio research, and Macintosh driving reference Martin Logan systems. That said,  i’ve been very lucky to piece together two amazing systems on the cheap. I’m driving 1970s klipsch cornwall ones, the verticals, with a Chinese Doge  tube amp at 60 W controlled by an old rotel RC 995 preamp and a crappy JVC CD player from the 90s.
 I was lucky to get an 1988 Sota Sapphire turntable for vinyl for a song from a generous guy moving out of state recently. 
 For streaming i use the discontinued chrome audio, and or a dragonfly 

 I’m sold on klipsch horn loaded speakers for their durability, efficiency and the ability to get an amazing premium sound for reasonable dollars on the whole. 
I have quite a few pairs of klipsch (la scals,cornerhorns,hereseys,) and fix them up and resell them to finance the hobby
   So to conclude I maybe have 2000 bucks into the system I described and my opinion is definitely every component means something to the whole stream. I will say that you can put a lot of subpar amps into Cornwalls or  La Scala‘s and get a pretty good amazing sound, at the very least  A lot of sound pressure with low watts as a source. 
 I do know that putting a pass labs, or McIntosh amplifier into most klipsch speakers is  going to give you  top of the line sound , but 2500 to $6000 for an amp at least for me isn’t in the cards.  I haven’t even started adding subwoofers to my systems but know that would be my next move to complete the systems.
 Again I think I’m like the majority of folks that really want the audioNirvana sound but really just don’t have the income to achieve it. But if you’re patient like me and find some good deals you can put together an amazing sound system for a budget that is possible/ realistic for a large group of people.  I’ve played a lot with room treatments and placement and I think in the end that helps quite a bit. 
   I would agree with a couple of the posts that really decent and in my opinion high efficiency  speakers would be first, then the clean amp, with the sources backing up the list. 

The most important part of any audio system is your ears. If you can’t hear the difference between two components, buy the less expensive item. If a later system modification exposes the flaws of said component, then upgrade. 

This is the story of my life. I enjoy listening to music and upgrading my system(s). I hope that this never ends. AMEN