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
I dont want to argue but like i said EACH room is different...

And what is important save the optimal ratio between reflection and absorbtion and diffusion related to EACH specific room is the TIMING THRESHOLDS Optimization...

Then i use contrary to general rule some reflection at early reflection points this is NOT AN ADVICE i give to all.... This is MY SITUATION in my room....
General rule in audio thread are only that general rule, i prefer my listening experiments and optimization for my room and for my ears and scientific research to help me....😁

Read that to have some idea of what i speak about:

«An essential point is that an auditory temporal window
does not have a rectangular shape, but it has a slope at each
end. Therefore, the conventional rectangular division of
reflections into an early and late part in time is overly simplistic. As suggested by the definitions of ASW and LEV
mentioned before, the perception of them relates strongly
to the law of the first wavefront [17]. Namely, as Bradley
and Soulodre describe in their paper [4], sound arriving
shortly after the direct sound is integrated or temporally
and spatially fused with the direct sound. Thus, increasing
levels of early lateral reflections increase the apparent level
of the direct sound and cause a slight ambiguity in its perceived location. These two effects contribute to the resulting increase in ASW. Later arriving sound is not
integrated or temporally and spatially fused with the direct
sound, and leads to more spatially distributed effects that
appear to envelop the listener. This description well
explains the relation between the perception of spatial
impression and the law. However, it is insufficient for a
deep understanding of the relation, because it is qualitative
but not quantitative.
Here, to facilitate understanding of the relation, let us
suppose a simple sound field consisted of a direct sound
and a single lateral reflection of constant level. According
to the law, when the delay time of the reflection does not
exceed a critical value, which depends on the kind of source
signal, only one sound image is perceived in the direction of
the direct sound. Then, ASW is perceived, but LEV is not
as explained above. That is, the reflection contributes only
to ASW. On the other hand, when the delay time exceeds
the critical value, two sound images are perceived separately in the directions of the direct sound and the reflection [18]. This phenomenon is called ‘‘image-splitting.’’
Then, LEV is perceived as explained above. Furthermore,
only LEV is perceived, based on the conventional physical
measures which divide reflections into an early and late
part. However, some questions arise from this case. Should
not ASW also be perceived simultaneously? If ASW is also
perceived, how much does the reflection contribute to create each of ASW and LEV? »


https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223804282_The_relation_between_spatial_impression_and_the_law_of_the_first_wavefront


Resonators tackle specific FR bands. every room will need wideband absorption at early reflection points.
I use resonators in my own way to guide and change asymmetrically the driver and the tweeter direct wavefront of each of my speaker  then differently for each ear and i use reflection to guide these waves to my ears in time...This help me to create this listener envelopment impression....

The 32 resonators distributed in particular locations with variable and orientable necks help me to control the timbre perception and imaging....I even use 3 cylinders without neck....

Like i said general rule are only that general rule...I dont go with a general rule, it is useless for optimization i did LISTENING EXPERIMENTS.... And the extraordinary results are only reach by some optimization of the resonators and of the reflection/absorbtion timing ratio...I cannot give a rule always the same for each room sorry....

Optimization ask for timing threshold coordination with reflection not only absorbtion...I used reflection at early reflection

What i do anyway is not for a living room by the way....

My audio room is ONLY for audio ....

But the most important luxury in audio is not the cost of the gear but a dedicated room....


I would not disagree. If you start with the speaker then find the amp/preamp that sounds the best and go from there. 
But the most important luxury in audio is not the cost of the gear but a dedicated room....
I agree

On the other hand I also think that good speakers sound better in a non-dedicated room than some bad speakers in the same room ... that's why in my opinion, the speakers (after the room) are the single most critical component.


It’s truly not complicated. For me it’s ML Summits. Everyone has their own favorite. Personally, I don’t care for boxes. Even open baffles are good. So, there you go.