Poll: Most impactful component

This hobby is very personal. Then why do we rely on equipment reviews and base our buying decisions on other’s opinions? Every system is different. It must take obsessive iterations in YOUR room and YOUR system to answer this question. That’s the lesson I’ve learned so far. Thanks.

^^^^This!^^^

That’s an excellent insight that many take years to realize. Others never do. For some it’s more comforting to rely on someone else’s experience or measurements than to trust their own observations, but that’s usually just a path to something that’s not very personal or particularly satisfying. We are each mostly on our own to figure out our particular puzzle. You nailed it, and will do well sticking with it because YOU are the only one you need to please in this.

There's this guy on youtube who plays in the upper high end of audio equipment. I watch him occasionally and managed to notice the DAC is one component that lasts through his high velocity testing.

If you don't stream I suppose preamps rank supreme. It seems even if one streams digital music, other components matter more?

I told myself that I would not buy anything for system until I get some real speakers in my room. I think I have the answer.

For me the most critical component is myself. Sitting back and just enjoying the music is all that is needed. Second would be the source. Even my old garage system sounds good streaming through my ifi zen blue. Can’t tell if it’s the dac, the implementation output from the zen or the clean streaming content or all the above making a chain. 

Speakers determine the character of a system. I think of  them like raising kids. I used to think that I could influence my young kids to act/live like I wanted them to. Now I realize they are who they are and are largely born that way. My mom would say that kids come into this world with their bags packed. I could only influence my kids  5 to 10%. Speakers are the same. They have a built in personality, and I can only move their sound 5 to 10% with system and cable changes. I was on a "more resolution" kick for several decades. That led to speaker choices of B&W 801 matrix, and Wilson Sasha 2s. I spent forever and lots of  $ trying to move their personality to a less harsh more musical sound with components and cables. I then bought Rockport Cygnus Speakers and I love their inherent  sound. Component matching is easy now as I am adding components that complement the speakers sound, not ones that try and muffle or change a sound character I hear as too bright. The lesson I learned is that the speaker is the primary determinate of your system's sound, so I spend as much or more than I should on my speakers.  My caveat is that these impressions are from one set of ears, in my room, with my components, your milage my vary.  

Speaker...