Best Stereo Upgrade Value

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.

Preamp. Compared a 6SN7 based line stage to my 12AU7  based line stage. Put my 12AU7 based unit up for sale the next day. For me, it was all about synergy between components and the 6SN7 unit brought the system to that next level. Plus I learned that preamps have a huge impact on a system’s sound. Preamps are much, much more than a box to switch sources.