High End System Building. How important is the matching, cabling and room? Thoughts ?

@calvinj 

As I’m sitting here reading all this, my mind wondered to room treatments.  Have you measured out the first reflection points on your front wall and ceiling?  I to have a doorway next to a speaker and it noticeably messes up the sound, but I covered up my fireplace and put a 2’x4’ absorbing panel above it and for the other side, I bought one of those cheap folding walls and tossed a comforter over it. I have to take it down when company comes, but that’s easy enough. The only thing I haven’t been given permission for, is to put panels on the ceiling,  but I’m thinking you might have to really consider it. Oh, and those smaller corner bass traps, do help a bit. ( but once again, they were not wife approved here.)

All the best.

I am also going to say that in my small untreated flawed room with the speakers and front end that I now have on board, what I now hear that makes the biggest difference in SQ is due to the quality of the source material.

Another thing of huge importance  is the quality  of the recording. Or of the lp, cd, radio broadcase. 

"Garbage in, garbage out"?

@curiousjim i can’t do any of that in my room.   I literally can’t change it because of the area and dimensions and the style of our condo.  So that everyone understands I am extremely happy with the current state of my audio system. I have infigo method 4 Dac. Infigo method 6 amplifier. Infigo Fluvius streamer. Gato Fm6 speakers and 2 rel 212se subwoofers. My infigo stuff has a zero noise floor up to -140 db.  It has great sound stage. I have cables that don’t have any noise as well. I get great transparency, detail, soundstage with a small hint of warmth and musicality. My system really gets in the air without sounding fatiguing at all.  Look my gear is expensive I can admit that but I bought it after loads of research and it has synergy off the charts. The design that went into every party of the system is next level to my ear. So I am literally getting great sound in my bad room.  I have high ceilings, a door that gets in the way. One speaker close to a wall. I have hardwood floors. Etc. But despite that the level of electronics I have overcame all of that. Look I can’t speak for everyone in my system it works. 

I get great transparency, detail, soundstage with a small hint of warmth and musicality.

@calvinj  , with absolutely no intention of taking this down a rabbit hole, how do you define a "small hint of musicality"?

@immatthewj i meant a small bit of tube style warmth. I didn’t mean a hint of musicality.  Its sounds musical. Instruments sound like instruments. Players are where they are supposed to be in soundstage. Just to clarify.