A stupid question for which there's no sensible answer.

1) Speakers.
2) See #1
2a) Measurement microphone and learn to use REW.
3) Speaker positioning
4a) Room including treatment (once you established how you want 3)
4b) Bass -- using room treatment, bass array?
4c) Chair -- its part of room treatment and speakers (height)
5) Source - what’s your flavor? -- need to find your flavor. Groups turntable setup and digital setup together.
6) Amplifier
7) Preamp (assuming 6 is good -- they are a set)
8) A dedicated AC line, possibly with a sub-box.9) Adequate cables.


If you get 1-7 right, you won’t be spending all your time tweaking cables and convincing yourself you made a difference while still living with all the other problems. If you have really dirty power, a conditioner may be in order.

Since I am not contentious enough, I would go on a limb and say I would take a great pair of speakers in a properly implemented room with a high end Anthem or Denon receiver and Spotify over much of what I see on here. I listen to music, I don't listen to my system.

In a recent post on this subject I mentioned a mate with a small almost square room with no carpet, only one flimsy drape and very little else. Think tilled bathroom acoustics. Truly dreadful. He has a lot of money tied up and is constantly spending more trying different components. He has a collection of very expensive cartridges that he keeps trying in the hope of improving the sound. All the fine detail the carts. are capable of is simply lost in the mess of sound waves banging around his room untamed. Last time i visited he had Spread Spectrum Technologies amplification and had replaced his Appogees with Maggies.

In other words the average poster on these forums?  :-)