What’s the Most Important part of the Audio Chain?

[captrajesh]

Makes for a compelling argument:

What's The Most Important Part of the Audio Chain? Here's What More than A Thousand Audiophiles Say

The real priorities in sound quality are finally clear, at least according to this survey.

www.headphonesty.com

 

[Nero9]

without opening the link, I would say the speakers.

 

[Hari Iyer]

Amps for me.

 

[alpha1]

The part of the chain which has most non-linear response is the electrical to mechanical transducer (also known as speakers).
Hence the most critical one.

 

[Kannan]

Ears

 

[sidvee]

Most important to me is the room.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[heliumflight]

Frond end i.e the source

 

[square_wave]

I like all the responses. The truth is that everything is connected to each other. My take on this is very much connected to the context of the system and person in question.

If one has a reasonably good sounding room and source equipment that ticks the basic check boxes (if one is pursuing digital), the component that makes the biggest change is the loudspeaker. This principle should work for most people.

However, when the context shifts, so do the actions! For instance, an individual may have settled on a particular loudspeaker as their ultimate choice. Yet, they might still pursue a specific auditory experience by seeking out a unique turntable or an esoteric amplifier, even if it comes at a significantly higher cost than the loudspeaker itself.

 

[sidvee]

If one has a reasonably good sounding room

And imo that is very rare in a country like India, where there are hard surfaces everywhere, like Granite, concrete, tiles etc. etc. and all the so called good equipment is voiced in rooms with carpet, dry wall, etc. etc. or tested in an anechoic chamber which is totally different from a domestic listening room. Unless one conquers the room, they are just hearing a pale imitation of what their system is capable of, and this includes speakers. Amazes me the amount of discussion that goes on around equipment, when no body even refers to where that particular equipment designer originated from, and what he heard while designing that equipment in his - so called listening room - which is polar opposite of what a person could be listening in, and no importance attributed to the biggest variable in the sound. At best what one hears in his room is totally subjective and will be impossible to reproduce in another room unless it is exactly the same dimensions, material, construction, listening position etc etc. So whatever said person said is his opinion - cannot be applied to all.
Cheers,
Sid