Next Biggest Improvement after Speakers ?

Aroc, I don't know that we disagree a lot. I would not put a shelter 901 or a Lyra Titan on a Dual CS 505, but I also would not put a Sumiko Pearl on a Walker Procenium Turntable.

At the same time the better cartridge will sound better than a lesser cartridge on any given TT. The cartridges ability to retrieve the signal is extremely dependant on the arm and table doing their job correctly. So a better cartridge is always more important to the ultimate signal that arrives at the speakers. I'm not sure if there are any right answers either, since there is a lot more opinion and a lot less fact involved in this hobby.

Interesting, but not to surprising, responses. I am in the speakers camp of 'the most important' as I feel they have a huge influence on the whole. I also believe that amp and speaker matching is important.

John's (Stehno) views above I find interesting and would be intrigued by experimentation...not that I am about to embark on this.

I am not convinced of source being 'the most' important, though all links have their level of importance. Even inexpensive source componants today put out 'decent' performance, but cheap speakers will show immediatly. Just my opinion.

Therefore, my opinion, in answer to your question would be the amp.

The reason I think speakers have the biggest influence on the sound is because their overall frequency response, dispersion patterns, room interactions, sensitivities, cone or dome materials, and designs, etc., varies so greatly between different manufacturers, and even in different models from the same manufacturers.You also have electrostatic, ribbon, and planar speakers which have totally different radiation patterns than cone and dome speakers.Even in an anechoic chamber ALL speakers frequency responses usually vary by atleast + or - 2 db., and usually more over the full frequency range! A difference of + or - .5 db can be audible!
Speakers, by far, have changed the final sound of my system more than any other components. I have owned MANY PAIRS of speakers over the years, including different models from the same manufacturer, and none of them sound any where near alike! Thanks for all of your responses to my thread so far.They are all very interesting!

Allow me to summarize everyone's point. They are EQUALLY important, you can't cut short anywhere.

Is it safe to say that many of the people posting here think that speakers are the most likely to have a detrimental effect on the sound so they are more important!?!

Does that mean speaker designs are the most flawed of all the chain?

Just because you don't get sound out of an amp, preamp or cable doesn't make them less important than speakers.

I think it was Nrchy that said all things being equal speakers are the least important. That makes a lot more sense than saying speakers are the most important because they are not as well made or designed. BUT can we really trust an Nrchist?