What is the most overlooked consideration?

What is the most overlooked consideration?

For over sixty years, starting when I was just a kid, I’ve seen/listened to all kinds of systems, from setups built on spare change to rooms well into six figures. And time and time again, the room—the room!—is the most overlooked element.

I’d never call anyone’s system their “ugly baby”—that’s not my style. But if the room is well-designed or even in somewhat treated ones, achieving audio nirvana doesn’t take much (even if you’re listening to Nirvana).

Dust bunnies and cobwebs in the corners? Those are just the marks of a truly content soul.

+1 @ghdprentice musicality

++1 @jsalerno277 I consider timbral accuracy first and foremost, then the ability to reproduce the nuances in tonal and dynamic inflection ...

Both well said.  I will place timbral accuracy over the top as well.  Sometime these two are not mutually exclusive.  For example, timbre accuracy facilitates how we perceive and segregate different instruments in orchestra / symphony music reproduction, affecting our overall emotional response to a piece.

What is seriously overlooked  is "grounding issue" easily solved if we know how, But the most overlooked are acoustics concepts (not audio concepts),( timbre is an acoustic concept as is the ration ASW /LEV and the way to control it,our room is an Helmholtz resonator then how to control it etc )

@mahgister seriously overlooked  is "grounding issue"

Very true.

+1 properly treating the room