Easy answer,.. BOTH! And why not? We'll honestly for the masses it may or may not be practical or financially viable or both. Some lack the right room dimensions, others the right speakers or the money to fill the room with the right speakers or gear. Still others may not be/are not aware that speakers and technology exist and have existed a very long time and are within very reasonable cost if certain ideas are adhered to.
With 5 decades in this hobby, both in high end home audio and mobile audio, I've learned many tricks along the way, as well as good common sense as it applies to our hobby. The biggest revelation I discovered or was taught by my dad early on which stuck to for all these years is this. Your speakers are the key to the entire conundrum.
You should pick a speaker type, design and size your ear and brain equate with overall sound qualities you hear and prefer. Much of this c bean also dependent on the room dimensions and speaker placement within swaid space. Then there are multiple speaker types. Some listeners prefer one of the many differing types of vented cabinets. Others, such as myself desire tightly sealed and separated individual drivers. For others still its a Folded Horn, Isobaric or Infinite Baffle. I find in home environment it is far easier to control bass response within given space or room using Acoustic Response sealed cabinets with separated drivers in each enclosure, adhering to universal, fundamental, carefully measured placement parameters.
All things being equal, amps and preamps should sound alike and will minimal coloration of the digital or analog signals they reproduce. Reality is quite often the opposite. Your choice of Digital or Analog Front End are even more manifold and varied when it come to overall sound they are asked to decode then transmit to the preamp, amp and speakers. Neutral and uncolored can be difficult and expensive to obtain in the real world. The media being played back is the only thing harder to quantify in a meaningful and affordable way. People often believe all Digital formats sound the same as do all Analog Types and nothing can be farther from the truth. Same goes for Digital and Analog themselves, being lumped into love-hate categories depending on who you speak to. Getting and setting up speakers to sound neutral and accurate while not boring is the big trick. We all hear different, so what I feel sounds over the top good and like the best live sound performance may be boring or annoying audibly to your ears.
I play guitar, piano/keyboards, bass, and percussion/drums, therefore I know what these instruments should sound like in a real setting, together and alone. This is the sound I attempt to reproduce in a home setting. I use large line array speaker, 7 1/2 feet tall, with 2 12" woofers, 1 8" midrange and 26 tweeter mounted vertically. Better to my ear than a point source speaker, the sound comes to the listener as infinite vertically, wide and deep in all forward/side dimensions, as well as behind my seat. IN most cases a subwoofer is unnecessary, other than when each of the channels are broken down such as in Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS surround etc.
Room measurements must be taken and real world active adjustments made, in my case with Room Perfect and an active EQ for each channel which allows component changes to be made thus altering the sound, not the typical consumer EQ with slides between 30hz and 18Khz. Room size is smaller than one would equate to these larger speakers 16' X 20' X 9' tall with 750 watt mono block amps for each channel. Power is not used to make things loud although that is easily possible, more so there is pressure and reinforcement through musical dynamics starting at the first portion of each watt to full power if called upon. An amp running out of steam is a huge problem when trying to make your system sound live and the way you like it. bass eats watts, speakers are damaged more often by under powered amps clipping than over powered amps with double the power the speakers are rated for. Getting measurements and crossovers set to optimal, sprinkleing in room treatments if needed ( they dont need to be expensive, you'd be amazed where most often less if often better) you can fashion your own out of every day material.
A quality multi format digital player as well as quality analog players are important here. If you like vinyl or tape, there are so many great deals out there which are very affordable. I advise spending a giid chunk of budget on your turntable if thats what your primary media is, 1-2K will secure your plenty of table. Spend 50% or better on your cartridge, as well as phono stage. I bought and built my own. Kits are fairly easy to follow there is plenty of help online to assist you in choice and construction. Picking a cartridge is the harder task, do research, try to demo or purchase where if you don't like the sound, your can exchange for something else the company carries. Analog Tape is well, tape and second generation prerecorded media for open reel starts at about 300$ and rises. However, the sound is the ultimate, you get to hear what is on the master, even Digital media may not get you that close to the real mix. Speaking to digital, today picking a multi-player that offers 25/96 and up resolution at a reasonable price is like shooting fish in a barrell. Securing a new player that streams, does internet radio, DVD, BluRay audio/video, plays CD's SACDS and more is easier than ever. Do your research, there are players out there are now practically upgrade proof, designed to be upgraded to the newest emerging formats as time passes us by.
Try to do as much research as possible. Educate your ears, find a sound you like. Remember, you don't have to buy everything new, buying previously enjoyed with warranty allows you to keep much more money to spend on the medial of your choice. After all it matters not how expensive or impressive your rig is if you cannot afford and do not have anything to listen to on it. Used media is another area to save your $$$ on, allowing you to buy more. I budget about 50$ per week for music or to save toward a new component or upgrade/repair if needed. Knowing your budget and how it will change is important. This hobby continues to evolve and your choices as well as desires and want's will change as time passses and your ears become more refined and educated. I started out with Sony Marantz and Pioneer. Today it's VPI,McIntosh, Studer Sumiko and Audio Research. I kept the better of my older gear while upgrading, relegating it to other rooms or areas, even something for my work office to enjoy.
Keep it fun and affordable. If it's not fun, you're doing something wrong. It doesn't matter what it sounds like to others. Your ears are the ones that must be satisfied. Impress yourself, don't worry about what the others hear.
With 5 decades in this hobby, both in high end home audio and mobile audio, I've learned many tricks along the way, as well as good common sense as it applies to our hobby. The biggest revelation I discovered or was taught by my dad early on which stuck to for all these years is this. Your speakers are the key to the entire conundrum.
You should pick a speaker type, design and size your ear and brain equate with overall sound qualities you hear and prefer. Much of this c bean also dependent on the room dimensions and speaker placement within swaid space. Then there are multiple speaker types. Some listeners prefer one of the many differing types of vented cabinets. Others, such as myself desire tightly sealed and separated individual drivers. For others still its a Folded Horn, Isobaric or Infinite Baffle. I find in home environment it is far easier to control bass response within given space or room using Acoustic Response sealed cabinets with separated drivers in each enclosure, adhering to universal, fundamental, carefully measured placement parameters.
All things being equal, amps and preamps should sound alike and will minimal coloration of the digital or analog signals they reproduce. Reality is quite often the opposite. Your choice of Digital or Analog Front End are even more manifold and varied when it come to overall sound they are asked to decode then transmit to the preamp, amp and speakers. Neutral and uncolored can be difficult and expensive to obtain in the real world. The media being played back is the only thing harder to quantify in a meaningful and affordable way. People often believe all Digital formats sound the same as do all Analog Types and nothing can be farther from the truth. Same goes for Digital and Analog themselves, being lumped into love-hate categories depending on who you speak to. Getting and setting up speakers to sound neutral and accurate while not boring is the big trick. We all hear different, so what I feel sounds over the top good and like the best live sound performance may be boring or annoying audibly to your ears.
I play guitar, piano/keyboards, bass, and percussion/drums, therefore I know what these instruments should sound like in a real setting, together and alone. This is the sound I attempt to reproduce in a home setting. I use large line array speaker, 7 1/2 feet tall, with 2 12" woofers, 1 8" midrange and 26 tweeter mounted vertically. Better to my ear than a point source speaker, the sound comes to the listener as infinite vertically, wide and deep in all forward/side dimensions, as well as behind my seat. IN most cases a subwoofer is unnecessary, other than when each of the channels are broken down such as in Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS surround etc.
Room measurements must be taken and real world active adjustments made, in my case with Room Perfect and an active EQ for each channel which allows component changes to be made thus altering the sound, not the typical consumer EQ with slides between 30hz and 18Khz. Room size is smaller than one would equate to these larger speakers 16' X 20' X 9' tall with 750 watt mono block amps for each channel. Power is not used to make things loud although that is easily possible, more so there is pressure and reinforcement through musical dynamics starting at the first portion of each watt to full power if called upon. An amp running out of steam is a huge problem when trying to make your system sound live and the way you like it. bass eats watts, speakers are damaged more often by under powered amps clipping than over powered amps with double the power the speakers are rated for. Getting measurements and crossovers set to optimal, sprinkleing in room treatments if needed ( they dont need to be expensive, you'd be amazed where most often less if often better) you can fashion your own out of every day material.
A quality multi format digital player as well as quality analog players are important here. If you like vinyl or tape, there are so many great deals out there which are very affordable. I advise spending a giid chunk of budget on your turntable if thats what your primary media is, 1-2K will secure your plenty of table. Spend 50% or better on your cartridge, as well as phono stage. I bought and built my own. Kits are fairly easy to follow there is plenty of help online to assist you in choice and construction. Picking a cartridge is the harder task, do research, try to demo or purchase where if you don't like the sound, your can exchange for something else the company carries. Analog Tape is well, tape and second generation prerecorded media for open reel starts at about 300$ and rises. However, the sound is the ultimate, you get to hear what is on the master, even Digital media may not get you that close to the real mix. Speaking to digital, today picking a multi-player that offers 25/96 and up resolution at a reasonable price is like shooting fish in a barrell. Securing a new player that streams, does internet radio, DVD, BluRay audio/video, plays CD's SACDS and more is easier than ever. Do your research, there are players out there are now practically upgrade proof, designed to be upgraded to the newest emerging formats as time passes us by.
Try to do as much research as possible. Educate your ears, find a sound you like. Remember, you don't have to buy everything new, buying previously enjoyed with warranty allows you to keep much more money to spend on the medial of your choice. After all it matters not how expensive or impressive your rig is if you cannot afford and do not have anything to listen to on it. Used media is another area to save your $$$ on, allowing you to buy more. I budget about 50$ per week for music or to save toward a new component or upgrade/repair if needed. Knowing your budget and how it will change is important. This hobby continues to evolve and your choices as well as desires and want's will change as time passses and your ears become more refined and educated. I started out with Sony Marantz and Pioneer. Today it's VPI,McIntosh, Studer Sumiko and Audio Research. I kept the better of my older gear while upgrading, relegating it to other rooms or areas, even something for my work office to enjoy.
Keep it fun and affordable. If it's not fun, you're doing something wrong. It doesn't matter what it sounds like to others. Your ears are the ones that must be satisfied. Impress yourself, don't worry about what the others hear.