What most important?Everything in a system is important, and that includes your own ears, of course!A system is working in an environment, in which the system in itself, is an integrated part.Where does additional efforts pay divident the most? Of course, one can make statistical investigations, to find out e.g., that room treatment had the best influence by , say 60% of the systems, evaluated by their owners, but that dosen´t nessecerly help you, to make good desicions.I will say that one important thing, among others is one´s ability to analyse problems and strengts in the system. With that, you probably don´t simply trow gear out, and replace it with other gear, in hope of an improvment.Instead, you work towards an end, and if you don´t know how to get further improvments,you consult others, who hopefully knows.Having had this interest,for about 40 years now, and having built many loudspeakers, amplifiers, and done a lot of tweaking,I can say that there is no shortcuts, everything in a system has importance, but many audiophiles have insufficient knowledge about acoustics, electronics, physics,so they are often searching in wain, for improvments.I don´t blame them. And I don´t state that I know enough,I don´t. But with better knowledge one is more resistent to marketing hype, and with experiences one can make more intelligent guesses,e.g. it may be better to improve the power supply of the preamplifier, than to buy new cables.Thus, if it is a single thing that IS most important, I will say knowledge!
What's most important?
I had some friends over last night, and we started to discuss the different things that go into assembling a high quality stereo playback system. The level of disagreement, and the heated discourse, was both fun and surprising. Here is what I think, in order from most important, to least: 1).THE ROOM/SPEAKER INTERFACE- choosing the right speaker, and placing it properly in an acoustically "sound" room with a dedicated power line. If this is wrong (like a Wilson Grand Slamm in 12 x 12 x 8 room) well, then why bother with the rest. 2). THE SPEAKER/AMP INTERFACE- this is a close second, and depending on the circumstances, might even be first. If there is a REAL problem here(like low impedance/sensitivity speakers w/SET amps) nothing else will matter much. 3). THE AMP/PREAMP INTERFACE- again, this seems to be the next place where things can go really wrong in an audio system. 4) SOURCE COMPONENTS- I know, this is lower on my list than most people would like, and I don't mean to infer that source components don't affect the quality of a playback system. Of course they do. I just feel that if the above issues have not been addressed, then simply throwing a reference quality source into the system might not be the best way to maximize the potential of said system. 5). INTERCONNECTS AND SPEAKER WIRE 6). ISOLATON DEVICES, A/C CORDS, POWER CONDITIONERS, AND OTHER VARIOUS TWEAKS.....Well there it is. Again, in an ideal system, ALL of the above issues would (should) be addressed sooner or later. But how would you prioritize things, and why? Release the hounds........Robert K.