What makes the biggest difference in sound quality?

Drivers> Crossover>DAC>Source>Amplifiers>Cables>Room Treatment>Fuses/outlets.  

EVERYTHING matters. All of it, every part of the audio chain is critical.

None of the above

Especially if you have Lead in your ears. 

You can make DIY Cords and fuses as good, if not better than most manufacturers. Pennies on the dollars, and it’s a lot of fun to experiment on your own. .

Copper foils for USB, and XLR. Solid for everything else.

Mineral oil+graphene+silicon dioxide for fuse dampeners.

DIY DIY DIY DIY. At least for the ones that are good with tools.

@millercarbon 12 gauge mundorf copper foil, is 27 dollars for 10 meters. hificollective.co.uk

Make it yourself :)Cotton or silk sheathing is also available in bulk, very easy to use, or you can make your own. 

I have about $20K invested into my speaker system, and have tried all sorts of cables, every kind of construction imaginable. Simple unshielded copper foil (as XLRs and USB sound the best. Amazing clarity, timbre and dynamics. Soundstage is MASSIVE. I have also tried Silver/Gold foil, but copper was the best match for my system.

These cables are simple to make, and can compete with pretty much anything else on the market, it’s not a boast, or false bravado, it is a simple truth that I discovered after doing the hard work for myself. 

The purple is an amazing fuse. It’s on par with my DIY fuse as far as clarity/distortion goes, but it has a more vivid timbre in comparison.

The DIY fuse has a richer presentation of the mids, the Purple is bit more balanced across the spectrum. Pianos especially stand out in every quality recording.

Overall a very nice fuse, and is definitely going to be a great upgrade on most HiFi systems 👍

what is the Helmholtz method?

I have tuned my system by ear, chasing that human voice.

Thank you for the info @mahgister, I’ll read up on this method, sounds very interesting. My next project is to build some diffusion panels. side/front walls, and ceiling as well.

My speakers are about 8 feet into a 25 foot long living room, and I prefer a live/dispersed room over an overly treated one.

Yeah everything matters, I still have to pick my jaw up off the floor after installing Duelund Bypass capacitors to my crossover. .01uf bypass for 10 uf, and 115.8 uf each. 

KRAY KRAY.....everything matters. 

I believe none of the crap matters much, and certainly not the power cords and fuses.

Hearing aids work,  you should try one 🙏. 

This is a thread with a 140 posts, from people that have years and years of hands on experience at the topic on hand, and in comes a bumbling blow-hard know it all, and proceeds to emphatically claim that everyone here is delusional, and his 5 dollars interconnects, and 20 dollars lamp cord sounds no different than any and everything else.

Starts talking about delusions, and fooling yourself etc etc etc....

I don’t get it......it’s like a fly in an ointment, a cockroach in a soup, such a productive conversation derailed by a deaf audiophile. These people should take up photography.... if you cannot hear tones, timbre, pitch, resolution, staging, separation, etc etc etc maybe music isn’t really your thing ?

And if I was half deaf, I definitely wouldn’t go around proudly advertising it.

I don’t have a problem with people that are half deaf and know it....

My problem is with people that are half deaf and DON'T know it, and then accuse others of being delusional.

I mean, I feel bad for them...it’s not easy to live with a compromised sense of hearing, but the sanctimonious attitude...that I can do completely do without.