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The most important link in the chain...

Hello everyone!
Over the years, I've read numerous different opinions on what is the most important link in a system chain. Somehow, in most audio reviews, you will come up with a statement about the importance of the category of the component being reviewed. "If the source is poor in performance, nothing can be done to improve the sound", "Preamp is were everything goes in and leaves from. If preamp is incapable of letting the information flow, result shall be poor", "Power amp sends the signal to the speakers. If power amp is incompetent, so shall be the signal and, hence, the music", "No matter how good your system is, if speakers are bad, everything else is in vain" etc etc. You can see similar statements concerning interconnects, speaker cacles, power cables, filters, power etc. I've read an interview of a 70 year old audiophile with a system costing $200,000 saying that power is 50% and equipment rack is 30% of the overall performance of the system! I think you see were it is getting to...
In your opinion, which is the most important link in the chain and why would that be? If thread proves popular, we might be able to create some charts; see how the audiogoners feel and think about that issue.
Thank you all!
myronk
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
"Transducers" are always the weak link in any system. For audio this means the speaker and the phono pickup, which convert between electric signal and mechanical motion. These are so inaccurate, evem for the best equipment, that all other elements of the system are small contributors.

Of course there is another transducer in the game... the microphone used to make the recording. The differences between different microphones are dramatic, as various test recordings will show.

And, for vinyl, the cutting head. So vinyl has twice as many transducers as digital. Draw your own conclusion.
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swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
FWIW, my 2 cents as follows-
1. Must have no gross mis-matches- no horn speakers with v. bright, high power ss amp; no low impedence dynamic speaker with low power OTL amp, etc, bad cart/arm compliance match.
2. Very high quality electronics with competent, limited LF speakers that get mid range right are better than full range, high resolution speaker with average electronics.
3. Changes in the transducers (those that convert mechanical or optical information into electrical signals and electrical signals into air pressure waves) will yield significant changes in overall system sound (for better or worse).
4. Very high resolution speakers will starkly illuminate defects upstream. So I would not go this way until I had all of my electronics and source issues in order.
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
I agree with those who say the room.

The two biggest factors (by very very far) are Room and Speakers.

Digital Sound and transistor electronics have made the differences between other components to be several orders of magnitude less important. (There is so much out there that is simply excellent - even modest cheap stuff)

This is why I am not ashamed to hook up a $300 CD player to literally "hundreds of times" more investment in speakers and room design/treatment. What would seem crazy to many people makes perfect sense to me in terms of "sound" value.
sns
3,299 posts
 
I agree that all links are pretty much equally important, one more link, as Myronk eluded to, the power feeding your system is as critical as the others. And then we can add those damnable cables, IC, speaker and power. It goes on and on and on.
dpac996's avatar
dpac996
714 posts
 
1)Ears
2)Bank account
3)Room
4)Speakers
5)Amplifier
6)Preamp
7)Source
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