Gonna see if I can ask this question correctly:
A phono cartridge can change how a vinyl record sounds quite significantly. But if I have to choose between upgrading to a high end cartridge or to a high end stereo, which will make a more noticeable difference and how?
Now with CD’s, what would greatly alter the sound the most? The player or the stereo?
The speakers are also at play in this and even wires and all the pieces like pre-amps, etc. when I’m asking this question.
But what singular piece of equipment can effect how something sounds, and will it change from source to source (cd’s, vinyl, digital, etc.)?
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You need to put some reasonable parameters on this. If you *remove* any part of the system it will not work. If you get the worst possible option for any part of the system it will be bad. Speaker wires don’t matter unless they are 200ohm ultra-high inductance wires running next to your mains cables - then they are the worst part of the system.
However if you take some kind of typical Hi-Fi system then it is extremely likely that the speakers are the worst component in terms of linear and non-linear distortion. It is pretty easy to make very good amplifiers, sources etc
Speakers and those things called ears. Protect your hearing at work and play. Every concert that results in ringing in your ears causes permanent damage.
For better or worse I have found it harder and harder to discriminate between excellent and more excellent equipment as I have aged. I can still appreciate subtle differences at the bottom end, but not the high end. For worse because i don’t get the same spine tingling chills i used to get from very high end systems, for better because I know longer throw good money after bad to achieve better and better sound. I just had a formal hearing test and my hearing is on the better side of what a typical 63 year old can hear, but everything above 12kHz is very depressed, confirming my subjective sense of what I no longer appreciate in great music systems.
TLDR - take care to protect your own cranial transducers….and good equipment will sound even better
I listen to digital so for me it’s the quality of amp
I moved from a cheap eBay 2x20w amp to my dads old onkyo TX-SR607 and it was in a league of its own.
Everyone is saying speakers. I suggest good weed.
Thats something that bothers me about vinyl. All the hype surrounding needle type, cartridges, arms ,turntables, preamps etc… if all of those make such a big difference in what you hear doesn’t that make vinyl a bad source? I mean Im never going to buy that $70k table with the $10k cartridge so might as well quit buying vinyl right? And if I can just play my music app lossless what would the person who invested thousands into a turntable and records say if it sounds as good?
It’s a type of sound and experience, it’s not a bad source, but it’s very coloured. It’s mastered in a different way as well, 70s records will sound dramatically different than the remastered versions on streaming services. You can get a decent table and cart for not that much money.
But do you understand what Im saying? Either our basic turntables all suck and vinyl is problematic OR the people spending thousands on crazy turntables are stupid. On some level I like the consistency of a high res music app.
Of course, lossless audio makes way more sense. And yes people spending thousands on turntables are kind of stupid, the return on investment goes down really quickly, but they’re still really nice machines.
I have a 60 euro vintage turntable and 200 euro cart, I much enjoy it.
I would possibly put room treatment / DSP a tied first with speakers. A cheaper pair of speakers could sound much better than speakers 10x the cost if your room is colouring the sound too much. As already mentioned 20db swings aren’t uncommon and there is nothing to remove those other than treating the room or in some cases DSP.
I had a 15db mode in the room which was tamed with Dirac and this made the biggest improvement to my system I’ve heard over upgrading my speakers to 10x the cost of my original pair.
Phono stage every time, your new speakers won’t sound as good if you are not able to properly convey the music from the vinyl.
Usually the sound
What you are ultimately hearing are the SPEAKERS, so an upgrade there can make a difference.
Others will say that the most critical factor is the Source, because if you haven’t captured it at the source, then you haven’t captured it at all.
To give you my perspective, this is how I break down the Budget of a Stereo System -
- 1x to 1.5x = Turntable
- 1x = CD Player
- 1x = Network Player
- 1x = Amp/Receiver
- 2x = Speakers
Notice emphasis on Speakers. Though these numbers are not etch in stone. You can change them based on your own priorities and based on the specific equipment you find.
Let’s say you want to buy everything listed, and have a budget of $10,000. We add up the number of ‘x’ which is 6x total. Divide that into $10,000 and we have this -
- $1,666 to $2500 = Turntable
- $1,666 = CD Player
- $1,666 = Network Player
- $1,666 = Amp/Receiver
- $3,334 = Speakers (pair)
Despite the $10,000 Price Tag, that is a somewhat modest system.
But that does give you a general idea of how I would sort my priorities. For me, while I don’t skimp on other things, the Speakers are the most important.
Again, individual priorities and preferences can alter this to taste.
And then we have to consider how the ROOM effects the sound. A particular room might be fantastic for Bookshelf speakers, but not handle large Floorstanding. So, the Room matters to the Speakers.
A Stylus/Cartridge on a Turntable will make a difference because it is mechanical. It touches the grooves, and how well it touches the groove will determine how well it sounds.
However, electronic components matter a bit less. CD Player for example, most CD Transport Mechanisms are about the same, so the decoding of the Digital Data, the quality of the DAC, and the quality of the Analog Circuits can effect how the device ultimately sounds. You can buy a CD player for about $250 or you can buy a CD Player for about $15,000. One assumes that the $15,000 model has substantial quality of build and electronics.
I think, unless you are a Billionaire, you don’t go for the best of the best, you go for a system that is reasonably balanced relative to the rest of the equipment.
When is comes to Network Player, the same applies to the Electronics, but a Network Player has one additional aspect, and that is the Software you interact with. The best hardware in the world, relative to a Network Player, can be let down if the User Interface is a mess.
When you say “Stereo” I assume you are referring to the Amp/Receiver. If you have the perfect Amp/Receiver, it has no sound. It neither adds, subtracts, or alters the sound in any way. But that’s a perfect amp and few of those truly exist. So rather than chase perfection, find something you like, and stick with that.
Seek Balance in your system relative to your Budget and your Room. And that’s the best you can do.
Statistically speakers, but the amplifier in some instances. Back when I went from Monitor Audio RX1’s and an HK3490 to Revel F35’s and Hegel H160 I noticed that the amp offered like 75% of the upgrade and completely changed how the RX1’s sounded like. Now when I upgraded to F228Be’s and Hegel H390 I’d say it’s about a 50/50 benefit from the previous pair.
Speakers are going to be 90% (minimum) of the impact on the final sound, unless you have a faulty product in the chain.
Source
The only things that really matter with modern audio are the speakers and the room
Speakers number one no question and placement is almost as important as the speaker itself. the cartridge is important as well. I had a plinius class a amp for a time and that made a big difference but not as big a difference as better speakers. wires matter up to a point and that point is thick enough to carry the sound and bi wire or bi amp make a difference because it separates the sound so the crossover does not have to. just my opinion. vinyl will always sound different than the digital sources. not always better but often better.
Room