I know that some audiophiles don’t like to review measurements but they are instructive.

A DAC with 0.2 dB deviation in frequency response and distortion and noise below 0.01% is commonplace.

A speaker with linear frequency response within +/- 2dB both on and off axis and distortion below 0.5% for most of the audible range is commendable.

It is much more important to focus on improving the component that is orders of magnitude worse than rest of the chain - and that is the speakers (and room).

Just to level set here. It’s not my intention to persuade anyone on this forum. I am sharing my thoughts and experiences and am interested in hearing if anyone has actual firsthand experience that would support the belief that speakers are most important. I am not interested in dogma, but actual experiences that might cause me to change my mind. I never assume I have the correct mindset and enjoy hearing thoughtful and informed opinions.

If you’re listening to vinyl then source matters. My 25yr old computer speakers (2.1) sound great on a 1240 but sound awful on an Ion.

If you’re on mp3s then it makes no difference, headphones will sound as good as any system, just not as loud. But loud does not equal good.

It seems to me that your source would be the most important given it’s the origin point.

Why?

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Of course, any system is only as good as its weakest link,

Indeed but how would you square this with the first statement?

i like getting interesting dacs/amps and streamers bc i think they are cool. i don’t think there is any difference in quality. if you are more intested in gear rather than sound quality get about 1k worth of source stuff with transparent measurements, good subjective reviews, bit perfect output, good streaming service with lossless/ download site, dsp/eq. easy to use with good ui and ux. thats all if you include software. things like dsp can make a bad speaker way better and might save you money on your speakers.

Speakers first, room second, everything else after that.

Bad speakers in a good room won’t sound good, but great speakers in a bad room sound awful

I don’t think anyone here is saying that the source isn’t important. Just that most $100ish streamers are beyond competent these days. But a $100ish speaker is bound to have severe limitations is not outright audible flaws. And these will be just as obvious even when paired with a $10k dac. But most people would still be blown away by $10k speakers and $100 source.

Both budgets are a bit silly irl, but it’s not about blindly following some ideal audiophile philosophy, it’s about practical value for money. Digital sources have simply gotten better and cheaper almost every year this century, whereas speaker technology has remained pretty much the same. Diminishing returns just kick in at very different price points than 50 years ago.

Turntables of course change that balance to some extent, but I still think a $2k setup (new Technics & nice cartridge, Rega if you prefer) is still good enough to reasonably and happily pair with speakers ten times the price.

Not even an argument: speakers.

In the basement I’ve got about ~$10,000 worth of audio gear and another ~$500 in the living room.

The basement systems sounds a hell of a lot better streaming YouTube or SoundCloud than the living room streaming lossless.

any system is only as good as the weakest link

This sounds good on paper but over simplified the issues. It’s not valid to assume that every link in the system holds equal weight.

If you were cooking a steak dinner, are the brussels sprouts really as important as the Ribeye its self? Speaker are the meat here.

The difference between entry level speakers and end-game speakers is grand-cannon sized gap. Whereas, most folks struggle to pick out lossless. And I’d challenge you to take a blind test to see how you do!

Source is not the most important, as most sources impart a relatively small variation in sound. The signal coming off your Sony Walkman CD player will be very, very, very close to what comes off a $10,000 CD player.

Your speakers and the room though? Massive. enormous differences between them.

Speakers and room acoustics by far play the biggest role in sound quality. Differences among sources, especially digital, are way smaller.

I would say the source is the most important but you are going to want something that is capable of reproducing it as accurately as possible. If the detail isn’t there to begin with, nothing is going to put it back in further down the chain. I’ve just upgraded my DAC and left the rest of the system unchanged. The difference is amazing. Obviously, the thing to do if you are buying or upgrading listen to the effect that improving different components has on the sound quality and buy accordingly.

Speakers make more impact than for instance a DAC. Your room actually makes the most impact. And you can measure that with REW and a mic.

You can exchange different DAC’s in your system and the frequency response doesn’t change all that much.

You can change speakers and you’ll get a major difference in the frequency response.

But also yes, crappy recorded music sounds crap on $100 systems and on $10.000 systems so in that case the recorded source is also important. But you can only get as good of a source as the original mastering.

Speakers are most important. Everything is important it is a “ SYSTEM “ after all. The source matters for sure but if the speakers can’t reproduce the detail, dynamic swings, and a pleasing frequency response of a great source then what good is the source? I generally consider the speakers to be responsible for 70-80% of the sound of a system.

spend 5 minutes with an end game system and you realize how little the DAC matters.

i use top of the line converters at work, but also have a $15 toslink to rca DAC from amazon if i want to watch something on the TV using the TV’s built in streaming apps.

i can toggle between the top of the line converters and the $15 dac with the press of a button, everything else being exactly the same.

the biggest difference is the noisefloor at the ends or beginnings of songs. There are some weird artifacts with the crappy dac. The difference in quality of the actual sound is incredibly minute.

now if by source you mean the recording itself, then yes, i would mostly agree.

The weakest part of your system is the most important part of your system.