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 am myself in my own unique category with only one member....

Not so fast, mahgister, I too have only one member.  
Used to be taken for granted. But nowadays....
A lot of things matter, but not all equally - I’d say that goes without saying, or it should. Implementation on the other hand is wholly important. To say speakers are the least important because they’re at the end of the signal chain is just rubbish. They are, together with the acoustic environment they inhabit, by far the most signature imparting element of all. With limited funds selective $50 DAC’s of today are not the sonic bottleneck to point your finger at, nor are cheap pro amps coupled actively or low cost cables in this context. The speakers and the acoustics however are, how they’re positioned and the way their digital XO is configured. But who wants to tell their audiophile friends they have $50 DAC’s, cheap pro amps, DSP units for active XO and, preferably, high efficiency horn-loaded pro segment speakers, DIY or not? The ones that don’t care about the typical audiophile narrative and are instead willing to invest their time where it matters the most - without being brand, segment or price numbed. Implementation is key, and letting physics have their way.

If we are talking about ultimate audio,(ultimate for my pocketbook) and speaking of order of importance: the cartridge would be first, followed by TT, followed by phono pre, followed by preamp, followed by power amp, and last the speakers.

The speakers will display whatever the preceding components present to them. The speakers are followers, not leaders, therefore, out of that batch of components, they are the least important.

In terms of expense, I would like for the cartridge, TT, and phono-pre to be as much as I could squeeze out, hopefully rated Class A or B by Stereophile, no lower than Class B (that's my frame of reference) same for pre-amp and power-amp. Some of us have unlimited budgets, I don't, and since speakers are suppose to follow the leaders, that's where I go with a good pair of neutral speaker, not the most expensive. In my scheme of things, speakers come in last relative to expensive components.

When I upgrade the cartridge, better sound comes out of the speaker. When I upgrade the phono, better sound comes out of the speaker. When I upgrade the pre-amp, better sound comes out of the speaker. I've had the same speakers since 2000, but they keep sounding better, maybe I got magical speakers?
As someone who has been perpetually in the upgrade sickness.. I can tell you that no matter  how great your components are, it’s all for not if you have crap speakers!
the speakers deliver the truth! Therefore, the speakers are the key component, or the foundation for which all other components must pass through.

this is why I feel the speakers are the most important step in audio nervana.