I have not had the long list of components that some people have had. However I can tell you what I have experienced:
A few years ago I swapped my Bose 901s for a pair of Magnepan 1.7i speakers.
HUGE difference
Marshall SS pre-amp --> Aric Audio Tube Pre-amp
Very big difference
ifi nano DAC --> Cambridge NX
very discernable difference
Front channels of amp section of Yamaha home theatre system --> (used) Parasound HCA2200
Very discernable difference
The changes were always made piecemeal: One component at a time. This means that I was able to A/B that component with everything else remaining the same. Note: The cnanges happened in the order listed. I have had other components: A Carver and Sunrise amp, some New York Audio Labs tube gear; NAD and Sony CD players, but they were too long ago to be able to make comparisons. Also I did not keep the old equipment so I could not slice and dice different combinations.
I have not played with high end cables. I have upgraded my cables (zip speaker cables --> 12g oxygen free copper; Standard power cords to $50 variety; Standard interconnect to upgraded cables (again $50/pair variety) The difference was negligible to barely discernable to my ears.
(Don’t get me started on digital cables: I have some expertise here, and think that spending more than $20 on them is nuts. Digital signal transfer does not work the same as analog. A bit is a bit. If you sense poor timing, get a better DAC)
Bottom Line: I agree whole heartedly that changing speakers far and away make the biggest difference. But I do not agree that swapping other components will not be audible or noticeable. I think he is probably right about CD transports -- see my comment about digital cables. I ditched (stored) my 600+ CDs a few years ago in favor of streaming. [44khz 16 bit digital is the same if the bits are stored on a disc or in the cloud)
A few years ago I swapped my Bose 901s for a pair of Magnepan 1.7i speakers.
HUGE difference
Marshall SS pre-amp --> Aric Audio Tube Pre-amp
Very big difference
ifi nano DAC --> Cambridge NX
very discernable difference
Front channels of amp section of Yamaha home theatre system --> (used) Parasound HCA2200
Very discernable difference
The changes were always made piecemeal: One component at a time. This means that I was able to A/B that component with everything else remaining the same. Note: The cnanges happened in the order listed. I have had other components: A Carver and Sunrise amp, some New York Audio Labs tube gear; NAD and Sony CD players, but they were too long ago to be able to make comparisons. Also I did not keep the old equipment so I could not slice and dice different combinations.
I have not played with high end cables. I have upgraded my cables (zip speaker cables --> 12g oxygen free copper; Standard power cords to $50 variety; Standard interconnect to upgraded cables (again $50/pair variety) The difference was negligible to barely discernable to my ears.
(Don’t get me started on digital cables: I have some expertise here, and think that spending more than $20 on them is nuts. Digital signal transfer does not work the same as analog. A bit is a bit. If you sense poor timing, get a better DAC)
Bottom Line: I agree whole heartedly that changing speakers far and away make the biggest difference. But I do not agree that swapping other components will not be audible or noticeable. I think he is probably right about CD transports -- see my comment about digital cables. I ditched (stored) my 600+ CDs a few years ago in favor of streaming. [44khz 16 bit digital is the same if the bits are stored on a disc or in the cloud)