The behavior of either a piece of electronics or of a loudspeaker can be described in terms of its "transfer function". The transfer function is the sum total of everything the device does to the signal as it passes the signal on.
A purely electrical signal consists of variations in but two domains: time and magnitude.
But a loudspeaker's output has variations in five domains: Time, magnitude, and three dimensional space.
So a loudspeaker's transfer fuction is far more complex than that of a purely electronic component, and the loudspeaker therefore has much greater inherent opportunity to screw things up (which it takes full advantage of!).
Cutting to the chase here, in my opinion speakers make the most difference.
Duke
A purely electrical signal consists of variations in but two domains: time and magnitude.
But a loudspeaker's output has variations in five domains: Time, magnitude, and three dimensional space.
So a loudspeaker's transfer fuction is far more complex than that of a purely electronic component, and the loudspeaker therefore has much greater inherent opportunity to screw things up (which it takes full advantage of!).
Cutting to the chase here, in my opinion speakers make the most difference.
Duke