Ok this will be a good thread.

6chac, lovely and funny as usual. Is this going to be a reunion?

Your listening space has the most effect, in my view, on the overall sound reproduced by your system. The recorded source obviously is what will most influence the sound you hear, but I'm focusing on the reproduction of that source.

A good pair of ears.

It is my humble belief that speakers play the most important part in a two-channel system.

I became convinced that speakers are the most important piece in a two-channel system when I heard a store rep hook-up a pair of B&W Nautilus 802 speakers to a Sony ES receiver and Sony ES CD changer. All of a sudden, J-Lo and Puff Daddy sounded incredible. The demo was done for another customer, not me, but I learned that quality speakers are the biggest improvement to a system you can make. Hook a pair of Bose to the same Sony ES receiver and a Clear Audio Turntable. IMO the ES and B&W combination will win hands down everytime.

Please do not get me wrong. I am not trying to play devil’s advocate. There are those who will argue that a two-channel system is only as good as the material entering your equipment (source material) and I respect that school of thought. However, it is my humble belief that speakers play the most important part in the overall experience one takes away from listening to music and thus are the most important piece in the system.

Dan S.

Speakers will make the bigest difference in any audio system, the differences between sources and amplification are minute compared to the possibilities with speakers. This is not to say the other components are not imporant, but merely that there is less varition in the sound of electronics than with acousitic transducers.