Speakers The single most critical component


I know we've been over this Q hundreds of X's over the past 20 years here on audion, You can find dozen of topics dealing with this Q <which is the ,,,,most important component...>>
well time for yet 1 more topic dealing with this,, perhaps unanswered, un-resolved issue.
I'm bringing up the old hachet due to my recent experience acutally hearinga FR in my system. 
Let me tell you, there is not even 1 traditional/conventioanl/xover design <The Boxed Type>> in the world that could convince me  , there is something that will beat out FR (caveat, FR requires  some sort of high sens =sensitivity, tweeter)  in  the Boxy world of speakers.
That is to say, FR + Compression Horn is the future of 21st Century high fidelity. 
One lab has already brought us these ~~~SHF~~~ aka SuperHighFidelity  single drivers. 
The code word here is ~~SHF~~~ which can not never be employed when describing xover/trad/conventioanl style  aka The Box designs. db level under 91 are _<<IN-EFFICIENT>> , = dysfunctional, out dated, old school , = Dinasaurs. 
For amps, I only consider tube amps (PP and SET) as ~~SHF~~~ I can not include ss amps in this topic. 
IMHO all well made tube amps sound very close,
 a  kt88 in brand X will sound  close to brand Y. 
So amplification takes a  distant 2nd place in critical component.  No need to break the bank buying amp A vs  a  lower priced kt88 amp B
CD players, nearly all  tube DAC's , tube cdp-ers sound  close. No need to braek the bank over X vs Y.
My Jadis DAC is  only miniscule gain over the Shanling,
 the Shanling
only a  miniscule gain over the Cayin CD17. 
Now as for  best source  , phonograph is the ideal playback medium vs cds. 
I have some LP's now , but my main collection are classical cds, most not on LP version. Cables , I did note some gains employing silver/copper wiring throughout my entire system including inside the Defy.
Tweak worthy.
New Mundorf caps in all componets, tweak worthy. 
Yet the main central component remaisn the speakers.
Here is where  the entire audio resolution either rises to Nirvana or falls to <<distortion/muddy waters,/pollution/anti-fidelity  voicing  issues.
Your system's fidelity is ultimately dependent on what speaker  you have chosen to employ.
Forget all you've learned over the years, 
The new mantra is <,The speaker is key component>
All else is just extra tweaks/nuances. 
To sum up, a  ~~SHF~~ driver will match even the top of line Wilson weighing in at hundreds of lbs priced $$$$$$$ overa single FR driver. 
FR beats out any/all xover box design speakers. Mostly due to that key specification ~~db level~~~ which is everything in speaker design and thus in resolution/fidelity. 

mozartfan
How to compare anything in a bad room non controlled acoustically ?

This is ridiculous...

A single straw location in a room in my experience can destroy the S.Q. of any product...Or enhance it...


Boasting about design choices is ridiculous, any electronic design is the results of a complex chain of TRADE-off...With his own advantages or inconvenients corresponding to a palette of possibilities all useful on some time, location, or with other piece of gear... No absolute here... IDEALS?


The real question when our choices are made is how i could install my gear in an optimal controlled room and environment ?...

Is it not simple?

I dont think that any designed kind of speakers is absolutely superior on all counts and for all location and for all use....

But we can argue about the respective values of these trade off design for sure, like it is the case here.... Then i apologize for my intrusion....But sometimes some thing must be said also....


«The critical component is the location of our brain in the room»- Acoustic made simple by Groucho Marx 🤓


@mozartfan I have been building tube amps for 40+ years, and tubes are by far my preferred mode of amplification. However I can not agree with a blanket statement such as
I might even go so far as to say a well designed ss amplification may be acceptable if pair with full range/TI compression.
Well designed SS amplifiers are just as capable as tube amplifiers in ANY application. It’s all about the creator, and not what devices they chose to implement their vision.
Well designed SS amplifiers are just as capable as tube amplifiers in ANY application.
You are right Sansui proved it with a comparison many decades ago between his best S.S. design and his own Best Tubes design.... Impossible to distinguish the two by listening...

 Ok my deep respect and i vanish now....
I’ve just been re-reading some of this stuff, and the Dynaco St70‘s (I’ve built four of them) and Shanlings don‘t exactly do it for me. I would be looking at some serious upgrades before changing speakers. Get serious folks........
No number of modifications can paper over the fundamental flaws in an amplifier. Believe me, I have tried them all.