Best Stereo Upgrade Value

Going from my much loved Kef Ref 4s which I had for 20 yrs to my Kef Ref 5s.

WoW - different class.

Speakers. I remember when I first started out 23+ years ago and going from Bose to Definitive Technology to B&W and then finally to Dynaudio. Each time offered a pretty significant jump in improvement. But pre Dyn nothing came close to the improvement the Danes offered. That first moment I sat for a true listen after my Audience 82's were broken in is EXACTLY what this hobby for me was all about. I never knew it could get that good. I will never ever forget and each time I listened thereafter I knew that was it and I had finally found what I was searching for...

@aewarren your reply made me laugh out loud! So true my friend. Nothing like listening in complete darkness but I have had more than 1 accident with that damn glass of wine😂😂!

The preamp has been the single most important performance jump. A top DAC the second. Those changes allowed me to maximize performance of the rest of the system.

Getting into this great hobby only a few years ago I went for end game right out of the gate but I would say speakers as well. Happy listening!

Source without a doubt. BUT all others add to the SQ. Without a source you don’t start with the tone of the instruments such as violin, stand-up bass, piano and sax. Those all have a unique sound that the other components cannot compensate for in our opinion as audio manufacturers of each of these components.