Why did you choose the components and speakers that are in your system?

dreas26 posts06-05-2021 10:43am6. I’m a reader, and an audiophile friend recommended
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U58R0Q4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The Complete Guide to High-End Audio Fifth Edition, Fifth edition, Kindle Edition, Robert Harley. Many others available, but this is very good.

I looked through the preview and one aspect that caught my attention was "the specification sheet - sometimes at the expense of actual sound quality". "THD ... widely used by uneducated consumers as a measure of amplifier quality".

I've often raised that point on clinical review sites and always get hammered with clean path comments.

There is no doubt those tests can be useful but what goes on below audible levels is purely academic and in most cases irrelevant.

Even a pink panther missing a head doesn't indicate much and it should still be considered.

Through the years I have owned different levels of audio equipment. At this point I’m running a McIntosh c53 preamp, McIntosh mc452 power amp and KEF Blades. While all of this is great and it sounds fantastic, the one thing that I paid a lot of attention to is room treatment. Something I don’t see discussed a lot and can have a profound effect on any system at any price point! The variables here are endless. So for me, the starting point is your listening environment and go from there. 

I started my journey into high end with 3.6 Maggie’s.   They still remain the core of my system.  I went through a number of amps before  finding McIntosh MC501 mono blocks.  Maggie’s thrive on current and these amps made them very revealing.  Along the way I decided a tube preamp would add to the synergy and after that, I quit snapping out gear as I knew my ears were happy!

I've played and listened to all kinds of music in my day, and I was lucky enough to live in a locale (Southern California) that had enough retail stereo outlets to allow me to audition whole rafts of hi-end components.  Eventually, I was able to assemble a system that could satisfy both my ears and my pocketbook.

1. Budget, including relative percentage of budget to to allot per component
2. Choosing the fewest possible components: turntable, mm cartridge (to avoid needing a pre-pre amp for a mc cartridge), CD/SACD player, integrated amp that included a good DAC, speakers, and power conditioner in my case. Fewer components, means fewer expensive wires impinging on component budget.
3. Getting recommendations on components in price range here on site, then researching, and auditioning, components,
4 Getting recommendations on cables, wiring and the like, and what wiring use to demo their components at shows, from manufacturers of components purchased.
5. Buying only new components from reputable manufacturers with a track record and longevity in the business. and from dealers who have been around a while too. Find out where each component is made, and completely avoid components manufactured in China due to endemic quality control issues there. Manufacturers who hide that their products are made in China are suspect.
6, Researching designing and installing shelving for components, and needed isolation accessories like Isoacoustic feet.
7. Ending up with a clean, uncolored, detailed and revealing sound within budget.

Mike