Speakers Don’t Matter As Much As We Think They Do?

Had I upgraded my speakers mid way through, I would have undone a lot of the work that went into the system in terms of synergy.

You can't be sure about that. 

So, yes, many listeners will be happy with speakers that represent a relatively small percentage of total system cost. While others would find those speakers incapable of handling the dynamic peaks of some of their recordings, at their preferred listening volumes, and/or incapable of providing the deep bass extension they prefer. And for a given level of sonic quality, in the latter case preferred speakers will tend to represent a much greater percentage of system cost than in the former case.

I agree. 

All components in a system are important but the speakers are your stethoscope.

erik_squires7,833 posts02-15-2020 9:56am"I do believe that being happy with any speaker is the room. Too often listeners hear a great experience at a dealer, come home, don’t have it, and then are sold power cables, amps, etc, to try and reach the nirvana which was always the room to begin with.

A good room is transformative, and can make a lot of speakers sound really great. A mediocre or poor sounding room requires you to chase synergy forever...."

That's been my experience as well.

@åhickamore>

Bottom line: Speakers make the biggest difference and the rule of thumb is that speakers should cost 2x the cost of amp and preamp combined. OP's experience seems atypical to me.

blindjim>

that plan sounds very, very, dated.

Mind telling us exactly where you found this mandate for  allocating funds when building a system?

this means in just one eX. a $10K line stage + a pr of $25K mono blocks should have a pr of $70K speakers?

good luck with that approach as !  its application likely pertains to the lowest percentile of this past times enthusiasts whose pockets can afford what ever,  when ever tiers of merchandise.

real world EXP has shown me quite the opposite  in various systems owned and operating in different folks homes I’ve visited.

in fact one note on audio performance was being reinforced in exhibition after exhibition at the Fla Audio Expo this year which was put the majority of the funds in front of your speakers and by a wide margin of the dealer’s and or presentors on hand.

the vitus 030 Integrated    demo ($55K) had it driving a pr of $22K speakers imported from lithowania

gershman’s Grand Avant Gard $14K per pr were being pushed by VAC statement pre and a pr of VAC Statement 450s. the VAC triad easily surpasses the Gershman’s allocation.

this arrangement was repeated with regularity regardless the loudspeakers on display with very few exceptions.

implying one must double funding for speakerage  comensurate with the power train’s total investment, is some speaker makers idealistic or at least quite ambitious perspective.

in fact, the digital domain and the loudspeaker technological highway seems to be the foremost avenues which are demonstrating routine and regular advancements, and as such wisdom there would not be to trade in the first borne or get a second mortgage for speakers as their SOTA   is a swiftly  moving target.

prudence likely says to provide ABC speakers with the best signal and electronic control one can, rather than have a superbly capable loudspeaker recreating   a mediocre or even pedestriann signal and or one whose voltage or current demands have not been accutely addressed or fully optimized.

another  note on  the speaker first at all costs notion is thier plain old practicality of system integration. speakers are often large, heavy and affected by more variables than are its upstream counterparts than just  power demands. It is usually easier to swap in and out amps than it is to regularly swap in and out the speakers themselves. 

A pr of speakers  presence alone can ordain a particular esthetic needs to be evident for them to just be in the system and might negate another brand whose fashion or appearance can not be provided albeit their performance could be better than the more attractive units currently in residence.

I started off with a JVC receiver and a Sony 300 disc player that I kept on shuffle most of the time. Infinity bookshelf speakers completed the system. I new nothing about synergy, tubes vs SS, cables room acoustics, etc. Walked into a high end stereo vendor one day and left with a pair of PSB Alphas and a copy of Robert Harley's Complete Guide to High-End Audio, 3rd Edition. I'm now playing around with speaker position and room acoustics. Seems to me I could have started anywhere on the components list, i.e. preamp, speakers, source, and ended up where I am now, playing with diffusers, dampers & locations. It's all been fun and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I've concluded that Synergy=(trial + error)/Time.