Most improved last 10yrs: Speaker, amp, or pre?


Where would you say are the biggest improvements in the last 10 years between speakers, amps or preamps ?

I'm leaving digital out of the debate, as the answer would be obvious.
sonicbeauty
Mapman,

the 7s' innovations supposedly involve using the same materials (end-grain balsa in particular) in all the drivers and not having any shared frequencies (to prevent smearing) among adjacent drivers.

I make no claims about thoroughness as far as listening to lots of speakers. in fact, I went to the demo in a pretty jaded state of mind and was decidedly not 'blown away' by the wilson sashas - even though they sounded great. my response to the 7s was something along the lines of 'these sound different from any speaker, no matter how expensive, I've ever heard'. and I don't even like the artist they used for the demo ('the boss'...).

obviously, the rest of the system, the room, the 'software', etc., all contribute, and I'm hardly in a position to do a series of A-B comparisons ($45K!), but I haven't been this blown away by any single component in years. it's a given that they'll be much reviewed and much discussed when they get 'out there', so my initial impressions will either be confirmed or dubunked by the 'pros' - and I'm no pro by any stretch of the imagination.

sure wish they were cheaper...
Douglas_schroeder, I'm very interested in hearing and seeing more about the component sources you mention.
Foster9, I put the components together merely out of curiosity. They were meant for different rigs, but I can't pass up an experiment in system building. The results were far beyond expectations. Last night I switched the power cables on the VAC Royal Power Supplies powering the Kingsound King speakers, and got a bit more out of the speakers.

It's a perfect case of "Don't judge the system by appearance." You know Susan Boyle? People mocked until she opened her mouth to sing. This rig is similar. You'd never expect what it sounds like. It would actually be not recommended if not for the unique combination of gear.
Probably tweaks - in the last ten years, they have made huge leaps. If not in sound quality, then at least in chutzpah.