advertisement


Which component has the biggest effect on the sound?

D

dolfan

pfm Member
While going through the vintage web site I was reminded of the "buy the best turntable you can get" idea from the late 70s, where the source was deemed to the most important component. I've always found that the amp has the biggest effect on the sound. Certainly my speakers sound quite different with each amp I have used.
Agree or disagree?
 
IMO neither are a substitute for the other. I've never found a room so good that it makes a poor system sound acceptable. If anything, a better room makes me focus more on the poor system's output while a great room allows a great system to perform at its best.
 
Ditto speakers & room. Cables last but any system is only as good as its weakest link. Speakers first because they interact with the room & your ears the most. Next to cables, I'd personally put the source behind the amplifier. There's little point getting the speakers right if poorly driven. Getting the speakers right makes getting the rest to match easier, IMO.
When people say garbage in, garbage out; they are usually referring to Linn's ancient advertising slant when they exclusively made turntables that advocated the source 1st.
 
It's about synergy and how individual rooms & setups respond to component changes. I can't think of any one component that really defines the sound of my system, but speakers have the most colouration compared to other components and it's much easier to spot differences between them.
 
Speakers and analogue source components by a mile IME as they are the most compromised and furthest from a theoretical ideal. These are the areas that take expensive mechanical engineering to solve. Agree on the room being a huge factor too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top