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

I agree. On an informational level, an incredible amount of stuff is online somewhere, but that has its limitations.

I can see that I'm a master of posing unanswerable/possibly pointless questions.

I like your manner.... By the way it is what true master of life are....




Apart of all this information technical mostly it is very important to experiment ourself in listening and feed back modifications...

What we inform with in these experiments cannot be look for on the internet...

Our listening room and gear is a very specified and unique system related to our ears.... And improving it call not only for tech information but for experiments.... Simple onee but many experiments...

I transform totally my system this way...

Tech information is basic and generic, generic because tech information apply to all audio system... A slight modification in your room nowhere else described is specific and can give great benefit also.... I call that listenings experiments... I created all my devices this way....

Technical information is necessary but dont replace creativity.....And sometimes technical information conditioned us in the road where all are going.... all throw money to so called better design for example.... Creativity let you created your own road...At no cost....

No technical information given to me give me the idea to place a salt lamp near speakers....

My "nutty" example is volontarily chosen to be "nutty" for the clarity of what i speak about...

Idiots can laugh....

Single most important factor is your room. It's not just speaker placement or room treatments, some speakers will never work well in your room no matter where you put them or how many magic panels you put up. You have to find a speaker that works in your room, then find an amp that drives the speaker well, and then use the rest of your cash for the best preamp and source components you can afford. The last components to consider are cables and power conditioners and room treatments, because while everything makes a difference, you can find reasonable alternatives to the pricey doodads (e.g., having an electrician wire you a dedicated outlet may be cheaper than a $5K conditioner, or look into those cheap Belden speaker wires which sound damned good in some systems and will serve you well until you can afford the fancy stuff). But if your speakers don't play your room, your megabuck DAC will sound like crap.

I agree with Mahgister.

The room is definitely the weakest part of the system, if you want to call it a part,

Not only is the room a part of the system, it’s the biggest player in the system. Your room will affect the sound of your system more than any single component. Also remember, carpeting, furniture, furnishings, room shape, etc. are all a part of the acoustical profile. Some good, some bad.

Acoustics in my opinion are challenging and I wouldn’t hesitate to consult with an expert or two that work in the field. Also remember, you don’t have to make all the changes, just make the ones that your circumstances allow. Another thing to keep in mind is that some acoustical issues can be addressed electronically much more economically. 

As far as upgrading your actual components, if your plan is to upgrade your entire system over time, I would upgrade the components that you think will change the least in that time frame first and the ones that could change the most, last.

+1 @clearthinker. If the source is bad you can't possibly get good sound. Most important for turntables. If you read the Linn white paper (of course they are biased, but correct), it just makes sense. Each step down the line can only distort the signal, so the order of importance is turntable (or other inferior source unless you're talking about reel to reel) ( tonearm/cartridge/phonostage - integrated amp (or separates, but more interconnects to distort), speakers. Cables important too.