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What is the most important component to consider while building a new system?

I recently viewed a You Tube video featuring Paul McGowan from PS Audio discussing the most important component when building a new system. I love Paul's video's and feel they bring a personalized touch to the discussions of all things audio. In the video mentioned Paul took a generalized approach in stating the speakers were the most important component to consider and that the relevant importance of each successive component rested in the chain down stream of the speakers. I am writing this to humbly disagree. I am in the mist of building a new system from scratch over the past 9 months. It has been my experience that if proper care is taken to the quality of the amp. pre-amp. and cables (with an emphasis on cables) you can get away with relatively inexpensive speakers that sound better than they have a right to. This is my own opinion based on recent experiences.
scottya118
aewarren
581 posts
 
The most important component is synergy. (Everything is important and must work cohesively) People who assume they can get quality sound from a good set of speakers, in a bad room with crappy electronics simply prove that the second most important component is the listener.
jrosemd
150 posts
 
Another vote for speakers.  I'm on my third pair of Magnepans.  
Love 'em.   
ps
744 posts
 
One's bank account? And perhaps a very clear idea of what you expect, desire,  your favorite reproduced music to sound like in your space.
pengun
79 posts
 
The source. That is what matters.
whart's avatar
whart
2,976 posts
 
I don't know that there is a holistic approach or even one which singles out a component within a hierarchy (yes, I remember Linn's marketing). I'd define objectives and priorities first.
For me, it starts with the midrange. It has to be grain free and transparent. I've relied on tubes to do that, since Biblical times. But, that may not satisfy someone with different priorities.
Amp-Speaker relationship is critical and you cannot buy one without the other in mind. Since most people think the overall shape of the sound is going to be dictated by loudspeaker type, that forces the amplifier decision.
Beyond that, it's a bunch of boxes and cables. Are you doing analog? Lot's of considerations, just as there are in putting together a good digital front end. 
I suspect most people start with certain "assumptions" (which could include not only budget, but space, room, appearance as well as availability). Me, I did it the long, step by step way and had a serious system by 1975, but despite the variety of interesting equipment I've owned over the years, I wouldn't say I "churned" through equipment. To the contrary, I tend to buy and hold.
The baseline starts with what you can hear and be exposed to in a decent listening environment with a variety of material to assess both the strengths and weaknesses of a given assemblage of components. Having "Tier1" components across the board is not a recipe for success-- that elusive "synergy"-- and you are the one who is going to have to live with it, whatever you choose. 

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