Power, Network, Connection, Which one matters the most to you?

[Preston8452]

Hi guys,

When it comes to sound quality, I've realized there're freaking many factors could affect it, some say the DAC is the paramount thing to be taken care of; some say the speakers are the real crucial part, given that you hear all the sounds from them, there's no certain right or wrong here I'd say, after all, " Sound Quality " is absolutely subjective...

I'd like to know which section would you invest more? cuz I read that some power cables are more expensive than speakers, I was pretty impressed by that though, I'm sure the know-how must be real high-class, or some people even rearrange the wire management in the households, or even spend tons of money on router or network switch!

For me, I might invest more on the " Power " part though, I mean, let's face it, all electronic gears require power signals, not just audio system, it's like bloodstream to them, so if the power source is stable & strong enough, I imagine that the high-end audio gears would have better performance(? that's why people use external linear power supply rather than a simple power adaptor hahaha.

Share your insights or your experiences below, I'd be grateful to learn, or telling me what you're looking for to upgrade your system is cool too.

Best,

 

[2FarGone]

Preston8452, unfortunately the answers to your questions are entirely subjective. I’ve recently had experiences with power and power cords that have proven to me that they can have a profound impact on sound quality, BUT your ability to perceive those improvements is itself dependent on the resolution of the rest of your system.

My recent experiences have convinced me that, to a large extent, the sonic benefits of power cords and other wiring in a high end system lie largely in their ability to reduce or eliminate the introduction of noise into the system. As the noise floor drops and the background becomes more “black”, for lack of a better term, detail and sonic cues that determine depth of soundstage that had previously been masked become apparent. When I installed two new dedicated circuits for my rig, I felt the improvement was equivalent to an amplifier upgrade. Power cords with active shielding yielded the most improvement in my system, but in my opinion it will not serve you to invest a lot of money in power improvements that the rest of your system is not sufficiently resolving to reveal.

If there were a piece of advice that I wish someone had given to me many years ago, it would be to listen to the best examples you’re able to find of the different kinds of transducers - stats, planar magnetic, horns, or typical dynamic type drivers - determine which of those sounds most “real” to you if all else is equivalent, and build your rig from there. I would have saved a whole lot of cash by making that determination first, then obtaining the best equipment you can afford to support that particular kind of transducer. As always, your mileage may vary...

 

[nj pheonix]

Unless you have lousy ( dirty?) Power , last
General rule of thumb ( no hard rules) speakers.
Theoretically nothing should color sound in chain but everything does.
For me preamp amp are 2 and 2a
Everything runs through those items
Sources are subjective in that, some people listen to almost nothing but vinyl, some stream, some cds. In that thought process, you'd invest in the thing you listen most to. This conversation can go off in a dozen tangents. None being wrong.

 

[Stereodiver]

I agree with 2FarGone that dedicated circuits powering your system gives you Big Bang for your buck! If your able to do it yourself without hiring an electrician makes it a very cost effective improvement.

As stated, YMMV.

 

[JoeESP9]

I also agree with 2FarGone. I've always chosen speakers first and then acquired the necessary gear to drive them with the best results.

 

[Capitol C]

I don't want to start a war here, and I suspect the original post is bait, but to represent the other side, decent electronics and good connections that don't cost a fortune are all that you need. Speakers are the weak link in the chain.