I'm a source comes first guy....meaning that I believe IF anything is lost at the source, no matter how good the rest of the system is, you will never get it to sound as good as it could. OTOH, many a'philes believe that the speakers are the most important component. After all, IF the speaker's cannot portray what is coming from the source or up-line, you will never hear that information. What's your opinion?
Source or speakers?
- Thread starter DaveyF
- Start date
+1 recording quality come first, for us the fun is compare, to compare two sources is more easy and simple to compare two speaker systems
tony ma
tony ma
I think cables , without cables both the source and speakers are useless.
i m sorry davey but the question has been asked so many times , its sometimes difficult to stay serious
i m sorry davey but the question has been asked so many times , its sometimes difficult to stay serious
For me it is Speakers, then amps followed by sources. Good speakers and amp make just about anything sound good.
The source first thoughts started with a guy who only produced a source product at the time. Very self serving.
The source first thoughts started with a guy who only produced a source product at the time. Very self serving.
The source, if you mean CD/record/tape/whatever, and except in our choice of the products we purchase, is largely out of our control. For the components we buy, I have always put speakers (and room, but we can't usually do much about it either aside from treat it) first, then the rest of the gear.
Cables are important, remove them and the music goes silent. (I'll no doubt burn for all eternity for that comment.)
Cables are important, remove them and the music goes silent.
(I'll no doubt burn for all eternity for that comment.)
garylkoh
WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Can't hear the source if you have no speakers. There's nothing to play on the speakers if you have no source. Both are equally important.
What IS relevant is what each brings to the table. The transducers (the device that converts one form of energy to another) makes the biggest difference in the sound that is being delivered. Hence, the microphone which converts sound energy into electrical energy, the loudspeaker which converts electrical energy into sound energy can be said to be the biggest culprits to infidelity. Being a loudspeaker designer, I would argue that the loudspeaker is the biggest contributor to coloration.
Even when you try to achieve a warm balance by using tube amps, I would argue that it due to the different ways that the loudspeaker (crossover, voice coils, etc.) is driven by tube and SS electronics.
What IS relevant is what each brings to the table. The transducers (the device that converts one form of energy to another) makes the biggest difference in the sound that is being delivered. Hence, the microphone which converts sound energy into electrical energy, the loudspeaker which converts electrical energy into sound energy can be said to be the biggest culprits to infidelity. Being a loudspeaker designer, I would argue that the loudspeaker is the biggest contributor to coloration.
Even when you try to achieve a warm balance by using tube amps, I would argue that it due to the different ways that the loudspeaker (crossover, voice coils, etc.) is driven by tube and SS electronics.
What Gary said. The idea that speakers are the most important element in a system (and by important we mean having the greatest impact on sound/fidelity) comes from the fact that they are the weakest link in the system. Everything from the source up to the speaker terminals has, for decades, been very accurate, very high fidelity, even compared to excellent speakers.
The idea that the source is the most important element in a system comes from the "garbage in/garbage out" concept. It is impossible to argue with in theory, but in practice the difference between a midfi source and the TOTL is insignificant compared to the sonic gap that can exist between even very high-end speakers. It's not even in the same ballpark.
Look at the source of the "source first" argument; you'll often find guys selling sources.
Tim
Definitely speakers first, then amplifiers, last the source.
Line up a bunch of sources, play them all through the same speaker, then line up a collection of speakers playing the same source. There will always be a much bigger difference between speakers than sources.
Line up a bunch of sources, play them all through the same speaker, then line up a collection of speakers playing the same source. There will always be a much bigger difference between speakers than sources.
I happen to think he was right. Let's say we were listening to a top of the line UHA deck and through a pair of cheap speaker's. ( You name them); I believe this would sound better than a pair of Wilsons being fed by a typical 80's cheap CD player. Might be an interesting test one day to try this.
Obviously, it all counts, plus without cables we don't get much sound....BUT where do we spend our money first...source or speaker.
Assuming we are starting with no gear whatsoever and only a room, best speakers for that room size and shape, amps that can drive those comfortably, THEN the best source components I can afford. IMOO
Should think about the return of invest too ? change a tone arm cable less than a few hundred $ can have bigger improvement than a hundred times of money's speaker that I believe
tony ma
tony ma
The thread is slowly evolving. We were asked what is more important, now people are answering what makes more difference, something completely different (and an important change )
Should we debate what are the important differences and then try to find the more efficient way of achieving them? IMHO most people enjoy what we simply call a well balanced sound. Easy to name, not so easy to define.
) Should we debate what are the important differences and then try to find the more efficient way of achieving them? IMHO most people enjoy what we simply call a well balanced sound. Easy to name, not so easy to define.
Similar threads
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |