why a 75 dollar blue ray smokes all 2k CD players and any turntable???

Russbutton:  Exactly.

Years ago I had a Pioneer blue ray player which was supposed to be good. The picture was good but when I hooked it up yo my audio system, it sounded terrible.

Back in 80s, I sold technics, JVC, and panasonic CD's.  At the time, they all sounded the same. They were all priced the same. I held off purchasing one to the late 80s. This was around the time, I first heard what HiFi really sounded like - It was a tube Telefunken system imported from Germany. It was unlike anything I had ever heard in the Stereo shop. A warm lush wide soundstage that immersed around my ears. It was magical. I began my CD quest and bought a Philips CD-880. Many told me I was insane for paying $1000+ for a CD player as they all sounded the same. I never heard it before buying it.  Well many can tell you, it does not sound like the cheap $300 CD players of that era. It is a natural sound with clarity. I kept it for 20 years and sold it when the Denon SACD/DVD entered my mix.  Yes 5.1 audio like DTS sounded amazing and was cool but like most things, it was a fad.  A couple of years later, I really missed that Philipps & bought a used one.   

I am a bit confused why this is being discussed at length. Are speakers the weakest link (theoretically) in the chain. Uh, yes. Does that mean that nothing else matters? Only to someone with a tin ear. If they are happy, I am good with them. But why the hell would they be on Audiogon? There is some equipment that I personally like that is barely "good enough" to be on Audiogon (not my opinion; I have looked for it here and it ain't around much - and not because people buy it and keep it forever.) So why the long thread? It started on a total BS premise. Everything matters, but speakers are the final and weakest link.

Hello,
A $300 DAC cannot beat a $2000 DAC let alone a more expensive one. Their are only a handful of companies that make the SACD transports. PSAudio, and Ayre both used Oppo in really expensive players. In the end it was their amazing DACs. All of the components are important usually with a weak link in the system. One that I was not expecting was the power protector. I was using pretty high end  Furman power conditioners. I tried the Puritan PSM-136 and PSM-156. Both were leaps ahead of the Furman products that cost the same. Everyone says start with the speakers. I say if you can afford it start with the outlet on the wall. I do think it’s amazing how much better a $29 DVD player sounds on a good DAC and even better on a really good DAC. Most of us cannot afford our end game speaker until the end of a game. I just listened to a pair of active KEF speakers on a blu node streamer total cost $1000 Very amazing. Most people should start this way since just about every TT listener is streaming.