Speakers The single most critical component


I know we've been over this Q hundreds of X's over the past 20 years here on audion, You can find dozen of topics dealing with this Q <which is the ,,,,most important component...>>
well time for yet 1 more topic dealing with this,, perhaps unanswered, un-resolved issue.
I'm bringing up the old hachet due to my recent experience acutally hearinga FR in my system. 
Let me tell you, there is not even 1 traditional/conventioanl/xover design <The Boxed Type>> in the world that could convince me  , there is something that will beat out FR (caveat, FR requires  some sort of high sens =sensitivity, tweeter)  in  the Boxy world of speakers.
That is to say, FR + Compression Horn is the future of 21st Century high fidelity. 
One lab has already brought us these ~~~SHF~~~ aka SuperHighFidelity  single drivers. 
The code word here is ~~SHF~~~ which can not never be employed when describing xover/trad/conventioanl style  aka The Box designs. db level under 91 are _<<IN-EFFICIENT>> , = dysfunctional, out dated, old school , = Dinasaurs. 
For amps, I only consider tube amps (PP and SET) as ~~SHF~~~ I can not include ss amps in this topic. 
IMHO all well made tube amps sound very close,
 a  kt88 in brand X will sound  close to brand Y. 
So amplification takes a  distant 2nd place in critical component.  No need to break the bank buying amp A vs  a  lower priced kt88 amp B
CD players, nearly all  tube DAC's , tube cdp-ers sound  close. No need to braek the bank over X vs Y.
My Jadis DAC is  only miniscule gain over the Shanling,
 the Shanling
only a  miniscule gain over the Cayin CD17. 
Now as for  best source  , phonograph is the ideal playback medium vs cds. 
I have some LP's now , but my main collection are classical cds, most not on LP version. Cables , I did note some gains employing silver/copper wiring throughout my entire system including inside the Defy.
Tweak worthy.
New Mundorf caps in all componets, tweak worthy. 
Yet the main central component remaisn the speakers.
Here is where  the entire audio resolution either rises to Nirvana or falls to <<distortion/muddy waters,/pollution/anti-fidelity  voicing  issues.
Your system's fidelity is ultimately dependent on what speaker  you have chosen to employ.
Forget all you've learned over the years, 
The new mantra is <,The speaker is key component>
All else is just extra tweaks/nuances. 
To sum up, a  ~~SHF~~ driver will match even the top of line Wilson weighing in at hundreds of lbs priced $$$$$$$ overa single FR driver. 
FR beats out any/all xover box design speakers. Mostly due to that key specification ~~db level~~~ which is everything in speaker design and thus in resolution/fidelity. 

mozartfan
@ Pesky wabbit

Of course I ran some opinions which may not be always true, but in general, with most of my classical cds (LPs might vary nuances to a  greater degree) Richard Gray's modded Dyanco ST70 el34 sounded very VERY close to the Defy7 kt88
At least from faint memory.
The 3 diigital sources, the Shanling did show up a  winner, but onlya  nuance superior to the Cayin. 
I might even go so far as to say a  well designed ss amplification may be acceptable if pair with full range/TI compression. And thats a  huge break  from my idea that the only way to experience living music is via tubes.

Thats how much important I am placing on the speakers as the main critical compoent in a system. 
So if we are talking FR/TI compression tweet, it really  might not even  matter which amplification one is employing.
And if we could have Richard Gray set up a  massive blind test, with all sorts of dif amplification, , sources, both digital, phono, ahhh tell ya what, throw in some cables, wires boutique caps, etc on the xovers and inside amps, 
Might take a week to complete this **whole system shoot out**, Then have Richard tally his results,, trust me, alot of old audiophiles mightm, in fact will be very UN-PLEASANTLY surprised at their voting. 
These  shootouts are slippery. 
Richard has staged such events , only with  a  few **mystery*  amplifiers,  resulting in a  few participants steaming mad that he has been **duped/tricked*
Both with amplifiers and speakers. 
**The RG Experiment* would have most of us here on audiogon, scratching our heads, as to how we could ever get so many of our long held, cherished, rock-solid opinions/ideas, stubborn views on equipment and brand names, so so ~~~~ wrong~~~. Leaving scratching our heads. 
This is the end result of this ~~~RG Complete Shootout~~~
Voxativ would come out the clean, clear winner of all and every component involved.  That is to say a  much higher %age would vote Vox as winner in the speaker category. 
At least everyone would get the speaker votes right. 
caveat here: provided we have honest UN-biased participants. 
Good luck with that.
already @ 2900+ views, going to bust 4k views come sunday, ALOTTT of folks are very curious as to how this discussion shootout is going to end. 
Will the box/xover traditional style speakers which Troels Gravesen is building going to be left standing? To play just one more day.
There is not even 1 box/xover/trad speaker in existence that would tempt me to give up my FR/TI Horn  dream. 
The A/B test with Seas, which he Excel are the best drivers in the world, vs the single 6.5 Diatone. 
My Thors will never ever be heard by these ears ever again. can't/won;'t happen. 
Seas Exel Thors are the worlds finest **OLD  tradition** drivers made today. 
Best of  The Old vs The Best of the New shootout. 
Seas really dropped the ball, not pursuing FR way back  when they 1st developed the Exotic FR @ $800 each. 
What happened? Did the Seas engineers ears go deaf. 
Anyone at seas could have heard their old tech drivers were just that, **dated  dinasaurs** next to their Exotic FR. 
Now they are wayyyy behind the curve as is ScanSpeak, Both will go defunct in comming years, Voxativ will push both in the graves.
RIP
I share your love of high efficiency minimalist speaker systems, rotating a pair of lowly Hammer Dynamics for “Roll yer Own SET’ thrills and spills. Love to get my hands on a pair of 100db+ horns

Voxativ = Vitavox???
Alas, marketing, consumerist folly, and sheer corporate might will all conspire against your noble ideals. In five years Seas and Scanspeak will be doing fine MARK MY WORDS. And so might Voxativ......
How to compare anything in a bad room non controlled acoustically ?

This is ridiculous...

A single straw location in a room in my experience can destroy the S.Q. of any product...Or enhance it...


Boasting about design choices is ridiculous, any electronic design is the results of a complex chain of TRADE-off...With his own advantages or inconvenients corresponding to a palette of possibilities all useful on some time, location, or with other piece of gear... No absolute here... IDEALS?


The real question when our choices are made is how i could install my gear in an optimal controlled room and environment ?...

Is it not simple?

I dont think that any designed kind of speakers is absolutely superior on all counts and for all location and for all use....

But we can argue about the respective values of these trade off design for sure, like it is the case here.... Then i apologize for my intrusion....But sometimes some thing must be said also....


«The critical component is the location of our brain in the room»- Acoustic made simple by Groucho Marx 🤓