what speakers demand high end electronics

Sorry Herman, I have to add one more thought. To sound their best, all speakers need to be fed by well matched components. A system put together with a bunch of high end mismatched equipment will not make MUSIC.

The question stems from Harbeth speaker designer Alan Shaw's statements that his speakers can do just fine with inexpensive amps. I know there are speakers out there that owners say would be need very fine electronics to make them work. So thanks for highjacking my little bit of entertainment with my hobbie.

If a loudspeaker has a benign impedance curve, it will usually sound pretty good with modest electronics provided the efficiency isn't extremely low or extremely high. The latter proviso is somewhat counter-intuitive, but often very high efficiency speaker sound their best with specialty tube amps, which can get pricey (but sound really good).

As a practical matter, an enormous amount of money can be spent on a quest for "the best". Most of us would run out of money long before we get there, but fortunately most of us are also quite happy with "great in the areas I really care about, with the inevitable compromises relegated to areas I don't".

Duke

Even mid-fi speakers could reveal the flaws of an amp, and the other electronics driving it.

As previously mentioned, Alan Shaw says his speakers will do just fine with inexpensive amps. Two questions for him - define 'just fine,' and define 'inexpensive amps.'

I have no doubt his speakers will sound very good with modest - to most people here anyway - amplification. But my experience leads me to believe/know that better amplification sounds better.

It all starts with the recording quality and the room. There's the source first crowd, which makes a very good arguement. There's the speakers first crowd, which makes an equally compelling arguement.

I am of the weakest link being the most important crowd. Not sure it's really a crowd though, as I just named it now. The weakest link is the most important, as that's what you'll hear the most of.

Hopefully there's no cables first crowd, but I'm sure there is somewhere.

To bring this back on topic, I think it's obvious that Allan Shaw is a speakers first guy.