A stupid question for which there's no sensible answer.


I know, I know. At least I've labeled it properly.

Here goes: of the following elements of a system, how would you rank their influence on the sound? In other words, generally, which would someone want to upgrade or prioritize, and in what order,  if all of the following pieces were inferior to an amp/preamp and speakers they were happy with? Power cables, connector cables. speaker cables. streaming source, music source, dac (I vote for this one as #1), room treatment, speaker placement, type of chair, earwax quotient, what you ate for lunch, etc.

I hereby give my permission for everyone to tell me this is an idiotic question since the real answer is: it depends. (But I did put a "generally" in there somewhere). Anyway, I prefer that we debate this based on what we've experienced when we've tinkered. So I guess I'm really interested in anecdotes.

128x128m669326
Pretty rude answers.  This guy was just asking an innocent question and the first guy to respond immediately tried to make him feel stupid.  I thought this was a great question.  Not everyone is a knowledgeable as the first person to respond.  Perhaps this person should find another group to harass.

  1. speaker cables
  2. interconnects
  3. power cables
  4. power distribution box
  5. speakers
  6. amp 
  7. phono
  8. turntable 
  9. cartridge
  10. digital source
  11. room treatments

@larry The first guy to respond was most definitely not doing that. What is your opinion on the question? 
1) the room
2) system synergy. 3) good quality components. Buy the best sounding components you can afford.