Vote

I have to say source components, as all other stuff these days is either built by me or bought used over the Internet. Used amps, speakers, and cables that are not too delicate are a pretty low-risk purchase with high value. I am a little nervous about buying used equipment with delicate moving parts though, like turntables and disc players. Even here, it gets harder and harder to audition the stuff I want as good dealers keep getting seduced by the dark side of home entertainment to the detriment of good two-channel systems.

If the source of your audio is distorted, your ability to reproduce quality sound is hindered across the board.

Truth is I haven't found the ones Iwant to keep yet!

Digital sources are at top of the list for me. My current CD player audition was two hours. I listened to 10 of my CDs (the first was Take Five by Dave Brubeck) before choosing one of the four decks. I would like to be able to audition all of my purchases. For me, that's not possible. I live in the sticks. Most of my system I have purchaced used for about a 1/4 of the MSRP through mail order.

If the speakers, regardless of the electronics behind them, can't exhibit "it", then everything else in the chain becomes less relevant.

Who has time and components locally available to audition? Not easy. I do my homework and buy used on the AudiogoN. If the gear doesn't match my needs and tastes, it's easy to flip it.

in the end its what it sounds like & the speaker is that end.

I expect to have a long and committed relationship with my loudspeakers, so it is important, if I am to share my home with them, that we get right from the beginning.