Sdcampbell is entirely correct. Speakers exhibit by far more variability than any other component in the audio chain. The winds of audiophile fashion have blown from various quarters over the years. Right now the fashion is to say, "The source is everything," which sounds good but just ain't so. You'll hear people say, "A good source can make a cheap speaker sound good," and that is true up to a rather limited point. But the electronics will not change the essential CHARACTER of the sound that the speakers produce. Read the endless threads about single-driver versus multi-driver systems, or about e'statics versus dynamics or about ported versus closed-box versus TL versus horn cabinet designs. Any of these designs, well executed, can produce glorious sound but the character of that sound will tend to be different on the basis of the fundamental characteristics of the designs, themselves. If a horn speaker sounds hooty (the "Winchester Cathedral" sound) with one set of electronics, then it will sound hooty with every set of electronics. If a Lowther design truncates the ends of the frequency spectrum in favor of a delicious midrange, then various electronics might make a little difference, but not a whole lot because the foundational characteristics of the sound of a Lowther system are bounded by the design of the driver, not the electrons coursing through it.
I'm from time to time bemused to visit the homes of new or old audiophile friends and find them listening to hideously expensive electronics, cables, and power systems played through cheap speakers, saying as they do so, "Well, you know, the source is everything." Then they come to my house, where they hear good but not splendiferous electronics (Belles, Rega, etc.) played through absolutely fantastic speakers. And their eyes pop out. Not that my system is the be-all-and-end-all of everything by any means, but simply because they discover how much impact on the sound of the system depends on the speakers.
Let me just close on an objectivist note here, because I know some of y'all are itching to get to the bottom of this post and start writing rebuttals. :) The literature is replete with instances in which critical listeners in short-term ABX trials have been unable to differentiate among various amplifiers or preamps or cables or other source-related elements. Now, without going into all the interesting things that could, can, and will be said about the limitations of ABX testing, keep in mind that virtually EVERYONE, in ABX speaker comparisons, can reliably differentiate among different speakers. That's a telling point.
But, hey, when all is said and done do what gives you pleasure and satisfaction. That is, or should be, the name of the audio game.
Good luck and let us know what you choose.
will
I'm from time to time bemused to visit the homes of new or old audiophile friends and find them listening to hideously expensive electronics, cables, and power systems played through cheap speakers, saying as they do so, "Well, you know, the source is everything." Then they come to my house, where they hear good but not splendiferous electronics (Belles, Rega, etc.) played through absolutely fantastic speakers. And their eyes pop out. Not that my system is the be-all-and-end-all of everything by any means, but simply because they discover how much impact on the sound of the system depends on the speakers.
Let me just close on an objectivist note here, because I know some of y'all are itching to get to the bottom of this post and start writing rebuttals. :) The literature is replete with instances in which critical listeners in short-term ABX trials have been unable to differentiate among various amplifiers or preamps or cables or other source-related elements. Now, without going into all the interesting things that could, can, and will be said about the limitations of ABX testing, keep in mind that virtually EVERYONE, in ABX speaker comparisons, can reliably differentiate among different speakers. That's a telling point.
But, hey, when all is said and done do what gives you pleasure and satisfaction. That is, or should be, the name of the audio game.
Good luck and let us know what you choose.
will