Whats more important? Speaker or the Amp

Best explanation award goes to - Atmasphere for describing Power and Voltage and how they work together in determining Amp/Speaker Synergy. People really do need to know the "design philosophy and criteria" that goes into both the amp and the speaker design and to make sure that these "philosophy and criteria" are not in disagreement with each other.

Best common sense award goes to - Audiokineses for "knowing yourself" and knowing your system and knowing what you're trying to accomplish in the end.

Of course if was to buy the speaker or amp first, I think I would want to have some idea at that time what good amps or speakers choices should follow. I would also understand, that until these choices were made and implemented, that my system probably wouldn't be sounding up to it's potential. Having said this, I still think having a great amp will allow most speakers to "sound" up to their potential, than the visa versa.

I tend to lean toward the speaker side of things as this addresses the "voice" of your system, however you must recognize that there is a balance to maintain in maximizing your satisfaction of the results.

If you are trying to get the "best of the best" during the time of initial purchase (and if you can afford it), knock yourself out.

Otherwise the best advice that I can give is to make sure that the purchases you make are:

(A) Well suited to run together (no use running a low efficiency speaker on 5 watts of power)

(B) "Modular" (i.e., having room to grow on either the speaker side or amplifier side or both, depending on how you will grow your system)

(C) You *LIKE* the final results (at least for the time that you want to own them).

I usually keep my components for a LONG time since I try to keep expenditures to a minimum. This means that I look for equipment that I can truly enjoy even if I get hit by lightning tomorrow (at least while selecting wings and a (high end) harp, I could say, "Dang, wish I coulda got 'xxx', but oh well, at least I rocked the house with 'yyy'!").

On the other hand, it is "modular" enough so I can switch components without undue downgrade in quality (and resellability in case of the "oops" factor).

Well that's my 2 cents worth, YMMV.

As you can see, there is no answer! hahaha

As you can see, there is no answer! hahaha

Nobody yet refuted my wisdom. By concentrating on high $$$$ quality cables, one can make any amp and speaker combination sound fantastic. If the amp is weak then simply raise the amp up slightly so that gravity assists the current flow down the cable to the speaker. This way you can perfectly control the sound. If the amp is too powerful then put it on the floor.

A quick glance at audiogon systems shows that many people already know about these tweaks...often the most powerful monoblocks are sitting on the floor where they are less likely to overdrive the speakers ;-)

often the most powerful monoblocks are sitting on the floor where they are less likely to overdrive the speakers

Which, in turn, explains why some people have their giga amps in the basement: use gravity to restrict --in a natural way -- the energy flow into the room!