I have read numerous posts regarding the relative importance of speaker quality vs other components in a system. Quite a few audiophiles out there believe speakers are the most important link and therefore should constitute the biggest expenditure. It seems to me that your source would be the most important given it’s the origin point. Speakers should faithfully reproduce the signal originating from the source, via the amplifier. My personal experiences seem to support this notion. Of course, any system is only as good as its weakest link, but I am curious why so many seem to subscribe to this belief. Interested in your thoughts.
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.