Let me be the first to try out Jeffloistarca's new acronym: STFA!
And while this dead horse has been repeatedly and mercilessly flogged on this forum quite a bit recently, I still have to say that all my audio experience (while not nearly as extensive as that of many participants here) points unambiguously to the inescapable conclusion that electromechanical transducers are without doubt the weakest links in the audio chain. For those of us of a digital bent, that means speakers, speakers, speakers! On the other hand, if vinyl is important in your system, the electromechanical transducer at the beginning of the chain (cartridge) is probably very nearly as important, and there I would have to agree that garbage in--garbage out becomes a much more reasonable proposition.
The flaw in the GIGO hypothesis as it relates to digital, however, is that the differences among various digital devices seem to range from minor to extremely subtle; whereas the differences among speakers can be enormous.
Having recently had the opportunity to mix and match components from three different systems in my own listening environment over the course of a number of weeks and months, I can say with complete conviction that it is always the speakers that make the largest differences in the sound of the system. I do not deny that there are differences among amplifiers, CD players, cables, etc., but again, at least among equipment of decent quality, these are often minor compared to the differences in speakers.
And while this dead horse has been repeatedly and mercilessly flogged on this forum quite a bit recently, I still have to say that all my audio experience (while not nearly as extensive as that of many participants here) points unambiguously to the inescapable conclusion that electromechanical transducers are without doubt the weakest links in the audio chain. For those of us of a digital bent, that means speakers, speakers, speakers! On the other hand, if vinyl is important in your system, the electromechanical transducer at the beginning of the chain (cartridge) is probably very nearly as important, and there I would have to agree that garbage in--garbage out becomes a much more reasonable proposition.
The flaw in the GIGO hypothesis as it relates to digital, however, is that the differences among various digital devices seem to range from minor to extremely subtle; whereas the differences among speakers can be enormous.
Having recently had the opportunity to mix and match components from three different systems in my own listening environment over the course of a number of weeks and months, I can say with complete conviction that it is always the speakers that make the largest differences in the sound of the system. I do not deny that there are differences among amplifiers, CD players, cables, etc., but again, at least among equipment of decent quality, these are often minor compared to the differences in speakers.