whats more important , speakers or amp ???

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its something ive been wondering about , im not looking to change any of my kit as im very happy with it all ..

im just wondering which of the two components is the more important in achieving the best sound quality ?

im assuming a cd player is going to have the least impact in a hifi seperates system ?

if so , whats the more important piece of the puzzle ?

for an example , ive got the marantz 6003 amp and rx6 speakers , both great for me ..

now say i wanted to spend a grand (its hypothetical guys , i have to use something as an example)..

a leema pulse ? stick with the rx6s ?

a pair of spendor a5s , with the marantz ?

or imagine a fella had a pair of spender a5s and a pulse , and wanted a grands worth of extra performance , does he upgrade the speakers or the amp ?

my instinct is that many people never get to reap maximum performance from their speakers , rather than matching them with an amp that can get the best out of them they tend to change speakers first , any views ???
 
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Anonymous

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maxflinn:

its something ive been wondering about , im not looking to change any of my kit as im very happy with it all ..

im just wondering which of the two components is the more important in achieving the best sound quality ?

im assuming a cd player is going to have the least impact in a hifi seperates system ?

if so , whats the more important piece of the puzzle ?

for an example , ive got the marantz 6003 amp and rx6 speakers , both great for me ..

now say i wanted to spend a grand (its hypothetical guys , i have to use something as an example)..

a leema pulse ? stick with the rx6s ?

a pair of spendor a5s , with the marantz ?

or imagine a fella had a pair of spender a5s and a pulse , and wanted a grands worth of extra performance , does he upgrade the speakers or the amp ?

my instinct is that many people never get to reap maximum performance from their speakers , rather than matching them with an amp that can get the best out of them they tend to change speakers first , any views ???

oh boy oh boy oh boy!
 

drummerman

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emotion-2.gif


They are as important as each other, no?

Of course, if you want to take some of the guessing game away and accept the manufacturers solution as ideal ... go active.
 

neil fd2

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Everthing plays it`s part. I gradually upgraded my system bit by bit as i could afford it. For me the most immediate improvements were by upgrading the cd player from an eastern electric minimax to a cairn fog3. The difference in soundstaging & bass were awesome. Likewise the speakers were another very obvious improvement. The amp upgrade for me was more of a long term listening thing over a period of weeks you`d notice more subtle changes. You`re going to have to audition different speakers with your amp & different amps with your speakers. It`s the only way you`re going to answer your question.
 

JoelSim

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I'm firmly in the camp of all being equal, but it depends what you are after. Detail to me is in the source, but the musicality, as matthew says is in the synergy. The older I get, the more important the amp becomes. And erm, speakers speak for themselves.

Clear?
 

John Duncan

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plastic penguin:
JohnDuncan:Yes.

Mr. Duncan, I'm not being facetious, but didn't you once tell me you heard a Rega Brio on 5 & 7 grand speakers and you said it was a "revelation"?

Mira I think, with bloody expensive B&Ws. Brilliant. But I don't think you can throw those speakers on the end of any old amp and it'll always be amazing - eg Spendor SA1s on my Primare didn't sound all that, whereas I'll bet you could find cheaper amps that would do them justice. If that makes sense.
 
JohnDuncan:plastic penguin:

JohnDuncan:Yes.

Mr. Duncan, I'm not being facetious, but didn't you once tell me you heard a Rega Brio on 5 & 7 grand speakers and you said it was a "revelation"?

Mira I think, with bloody expensive B&Ws. Brilliant. But I don't think you can throw those speakers on the end of any old amp and it'll always be amazing - eg Spendor SA1s on my Primare didn't sound all that, whereas I'll bet you could find cheaper amps that would do them justice. If that makes sense.

Sorry, JD it was a long time ago. In your experience, what other cheaper amps, rega aside, have the potential to sound marvellous on vastly more expensive speakers?

Edit - sorry, I should've said what other amps have impressed you with expensive speakers?
 

Frank Harvey

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They're both as important as each other, as is the source component.

Imagine you have great speakers and amp, and your source is rubbish - you're just amplifying rubbish. Now imagine you have a great source and speakers and your amp is rubbish - it can't drive the speakers properly and just sounds rubbish. Now imagine your speakers are rubbish - Great source, great amp, but all let down by the last link in the chain which isn't able to convey what the other components are telling them to do.

Having said all that (and the fact that synergy is important too), depending on what type of sound an individual likes, different people would be happy with any one of those three scenarios.

Many people aren't achieving maximum performance from their speakers Max, which is something I try and promote all the time. Many people are using underpowered AV amps to drive awkward speakers that have been designed around 2 channel amplification, and some just aren't using amplification that can grip the speakers and order them what to do. A well driven speaker (adequately driven or overdriven as far as quality/power is concerned) sounds quite different to an underpowered one.
 
It also depends on the size of room you have - My A65 sounded better with RS6s than equivelent standmounted speaker, but place them in a large room and the A65 would probably be found wanting.

I have a rough guideline of a component no more or less than £200 than the price of the amp. But if you have a 5k amp then the pro-rata amount would be extended...
 
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Anonymous

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Id say synergy is most important too. One component may not let the other show its true potential.

Im using a £400 amp with speakers worth a bit over £2k. It sounds amazing. The speakers are definately letting me hear all the amp is capable of. Very goodit is too!

Id like to upgrade the amp but it will take something special for me to fork out the money. Ive heard amps worth well over the grand mark and have not been too impressed. I think it'll have to be over the £2k mark for a significant improvement. ATC integrated me thinks!
 
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Anonymous

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So to sum up....

Its all about the speakers stands, blutac, Speakers, speakers cable, amplifier/s, phonoleads,digital leads, Cd player, DAC,headphones, the mastering of the CD, the recording of the music, the quality of musicians, power supply (apparently), the quality of all the equipment, curtains, sofa, floortype, window placement, room acoustics,noise pollution, one's mood, and finally the condition of hearing.

All working well together.................

not too many variables then!
 
T

the record spot

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Reckon that sums it up pretty well Dave! And that's before you get into the crates if snake oil that're probably lurking behind the sofa!
 
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Anonymous

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FrankHarveyHiFi:

They're both as important as each other, as is the source component.

Imagine you have great speakers and amp, and your source is rubbish - you're just amplifying rubbish. Now imagine you have a great source and speakers and your amp is rubbish - it can't drive the speakers properly and just sounds rubbish. Now imagine your speakers are rubbish - Great source, great amp, but all let down by the last link in the chain which isn't able to convey what the other components are telling them to do.

Having said all that (and the fact that synergy is important too), depending on what type of sound an individual likes, different people would be happy with any one of those three scenarios.

Many people aren't achieving maximum performance from their speakers Max, which is something I try and promote all the time. Many people are using underpowered AV amps to drive awkward speakers that have been designed around 2 channel amplification, and some just aren't using amplification that can grip the speakers and order them what to do. A well driven speaker (adequately driven or overdriven as far as quality/power is concerned) sounds quite different to an underpowered one.

Well done David, you have just said exactly what was in my head, but i couldn,t think right to put it into words. I also think that a good pre-amp is a very important part of the chain, after all that is your first point of amplification from the source and thus determines the quality of information the amp will receive and give to the speakers, in fact i would say that the pre is as important as the amp, something a lot of people don,t recognise.
 

jaxwired

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I'll try a different answer. I like to be controversial. IMO, speakers are the most important. I'd actually say they are by far the most important because differences in speakers are far greater than differences in amps or CDPs. Many people cannot even hear the differences between amps and CDPs. Everyone, even a total novice can immediately hear the differences in speakers. Bad speakers add 10 times more distortion than bad amps or CDPs (probably more like 500 times more).

Now, a truly awful amp or CDP will ruin your sound, but a decent HiFi specific budget amp and CDP can sound incredible with great speakers.

If cost is not object, then I'd buy the best of all 3 of couse. If I'm on a budget, I'd spend more on speakers and less on amp and source. Once you have great speakers, then focus on amp and source.
 

davemartin01

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I have read the word "synergy" being used and from reading this forum and others it is easy to see how hard it is to get this "synergy". The majority of posts are from people wanting to upgrade this, upgrade that, not happy with this, etc etc. To me this says people are just not happy with their original purchases. Is this the case? Or is it something else? Who is to blame? Is it magazines pushing "best buys" or poor salesmen selling mismatching gear? Or are people buying blind from recommendations from forums?
 

fatboyslimfast

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IMHO, and from quite a lot of experience, I have found that it's better to have a good pair of speakers driven to the best of their capabilities by an excellent amp rather than an excellent pair of speakers revealing the limitations of a good amp.

But obviously, that's my ears...
 
T

the record spot

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Great speakers on the end of an 'okay' amp or source will never sound their best. The listener might think so, but the minute you put a better source or amp on it's like night and day. Noticed this with the Leema Pulse and most of all with the Sansui AU-717. Everything else fell away when it came to not only sending the signal to the speakers, but managing them as well - they're controlled, more driven and more enjoyable as a result.

By all means, get some great boxes, but better to have great budget speakers or mid-price ones than fabulous Spendors and a £250 amp. Not going to happen.
 

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