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
@mozartfan I‘m sure the speakers you linked do SOME things brilliantly and are a whole lot of fun to listen to. But as to the ultimate loudspeaker, God give me strength. You love to paint yourself as a wise old sage who is passing on the benefits of superior knowledge. I can also claim to be pretty old and decrepit, and have been building and enjoying SETS and FR speakers for over 40 years. They are really rewarding, and I get a get a great deal of satisfaction from listening to them, But I am not deluded by the notion that they represent the ultimate in sound reproduction.

If you were arguing SET‘s and horns with crossovers I might take you more seriously.
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The Jadis DPL is a nuance superior to the 12AT7 I sold off.
What you are saying makes absolutely no sense at all. Equating an amplifier with tubes - this is entering bonkers territory.

No, just ... no. Give me a $150-$500 DAC with volume control,
And what about the source that feeds the DAC? And please don‘t tell me that all transports sound the same. A really top class transport with a cheap but serviceable DAC always trumps any expensive CD player at the same cost. If you are streaming you are paying for the quality. You can‘t recreate what you lose at the source PERIOD. And don‘t fall into the fool’s trap of equating dollars with importance.
The first question I will ask is why you are so insistent that a full range driver is the ultimate in reproduction.

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The single 6.5 Diatone FR just blew away the world calss xover speaker, the Seas Thors, Immediaetly knew audiophiles all have the wrong speakers in their systems, And they have no clue about that wrongness.
Thats why i am pugnacious in this quest to enlighten the audiophiles to stop considering xover box dsigns and make the FR/wide band discovery.
If more folks support wide band drivers, perahps one day some lab willl find  a  way to produce mass market Field Coil and then we can all jump from Neodmium magnets FR to FC FR.
Now wouldn't that be nice.
But as longs as xover designs are being marketed as high fidelity, , resonably priced FR FR can not , will not happen. 
You folks are blocking the transition to a  high fidelity, high sensitivity.
Stop supporting dinasaurs, just let them die.
Sadly my world class Thors will be going to the chop block sold as parts only. WORLD CLASS. 
No one has any interest. in the New Orleans area. 
What does that tell you.