Orpheus10,
I like and agree with a lot of what you are saying, but not everything.
"As audiophiles, we are required to learn system compatibility, but that will not replace component quality, and you can not get class "A" sound with Class "B" components, although you can consider whatever sound you're listening to Class "A"."
"but to get into the vaunted realm of Class "A" sonics will require a trip to the bottom of one's pockets, especially since every single solitary component in the chain must be at that same sonic level."
I understand what you are talking about, and that may be the case in some situations, but not always. I've found that in many cases, using B rated or lower components, can yield class A sound. You do say this, and that the reason is good system matching. I agree. My argument is that I think Stereophile just gets it wrong sometimes. Why do they? I really don't know. It could be any number of reasons.
I've had several pieces over the years that were B and C components. Doing my best to get everything sounding as best I could, I compared these components with A rated components. Of course this is all subjective, but in many cases I was able to get A sound out of lesser rated components. Not only that, they often cost far less than their A competition.
The only 2 issues I have with all of this is: 1. Stereophile sometimes miss-rates components. (Definitely not your fault in any way. I only bring it up to suggest not following the ratings too closely. They make mistakes just like any one else.)
2. This is where we may disagree. When you say that you can take a B or C component an do a really good job matching the system so that the overall sound is A, I believe that makes an A rated component. Why wouldn't it? You are absolutely correct in that system matching is the key to everything. I just don't see how you can separate the 2 ideas (system matching and rating). If you can get A sound from a B component using careful matching and setup methods, why wouldn't you rate the component A?
I hope I did a good job explaining my point. If I'm not clear on anything, just post and I'll try to explain it a little better.
