I have found the preamp to be almost as critical as the speakers in voicing a system. That's about the only change in priority I'd advocate. I think Gs5556 has the right attitude about recording quality. Those that only listen to recordings based on their audiophile attributes miss the purpose of music and music reproduction.
Significance of different components of audio ...
Virtually every component in stereo system is important but in my opinion, the impact is roughly in the following order:
critical
1. Quality of recording
2. Room acoustics, including placement of speakers
3. Speakers
...
important
4. Source (CD player, etc.)
5. Amplification
...
usually minor adjustments or fine-tuning
6. Cables
7. Power line, including power conditioning, cleanliness of electrical contacts
8. Some tweaks and adjustments (vibration etc.)
...
negligible, none, detrimental or unsafe
9. Majority of the tweaks...
This might serve as a guideline to allocated budget for properly balanced stereo system.
Do you agree? What's your opinion? What sequence your experience dictates?
critical
1. Quality of recording
2. Room acoustics, including placement of speakers
3. Speakers
...
important
4. Source (CD player, etc.)
5. Amplification
...
usually minor adjustments or fine-tuning
6. Cables
7. Power line, including power conditioning, cleanliness of electrical contacts
8. Some tweaks and adjustments (vibration etc.)
...
negligible, none, detrimental or unsafe
9. Majority of the tweaks...
This might serve as a guideline to allocated budget for properly balanced stereo system.
Do you agree? What's your opinion? What sequence your experience dictates?