Words From the Wise

Transaudio, I guess I agree. I have always moved back and forth between differ types of drivers and never really happy with any, except for a short time. Presently, I am very happy with the Tidal Contriva diacera SEs, but if past history allows any prediction, this will be short-lived.

Speakers, transducers being the weakest link, are the prime determinant to the overall quality of your system. Buy the best speaker you can afford and then choose an amp to drive them. Once that's done, your choice of analogue or digital source is wide open. You can play anthing you want to its best advantage with the right speaker/amp combination.

Rep4ever, I used to agree with you but now don't. My experiences with vibration control suggest that even miniscule vibrations can make music reproduction fail to have the realism it might have. One company's introduction (StillPoints) of many devices with their new "technology in isolation feet has given me sound that I thought I would never hear out of reproduced music. All that I can say is that very small vibration that are not somehow excluded ones system ruin your sound whether you have great speakers or poor ones.

Monophonic High Fidelity: Yes, Yes, Yes!

Be honest with yourself and know your limitations. If you have a odd or small room which must be shared with the family you may be limited as your setup might be less than optimal. We all make compromises daily, but with highly revealing gear setup and matching is key. I had a pair of rear firing bipolar speakers in the 90's and lived in a rental with plaster walls with little or no room treatment, what an echo chamber. To say the least it was awful, but it wasn't the gear but the application. Many say brand X or Y is the best or maybe they tried and it sucked. Honestly I don't think you can buy crappy gear as it all can shine if properly implemented. Ever hear a bad review, not very often because the reviewers know how to optimize IMO YMMV.