Is a hifi systems overall sound due to the sum of the parts or is there one part of a hifi system that influences the sound more than any other?
Yes, the room. 
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It’s a whole, but starts with that guy in the studio or on stage, and ends with those 2 things on the side of your head.
Yes, the ethernet cable……….
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Hi.
So, for arguments sake, if I wanted to add or subtract any of the following, sound stage, dynamics, clarity, detail, speed of the base, warmth or emotion; then the room and/or what is in it should be considered?
Thank you.
Kind regards.
Roger.
Hi.
So, for arguments sake, if I wanted to add or subtract any of the following, sound stage, dynamics, clarity, detail, speed of the base, warmth or emotion; then the the recording process, how and where it has been recorded need to be considered? Along with my ears.
Thank you.
Kind regards.
Roger.
Along with all other cables, I would imagine.
Thank you.
Kind regards.
Roger.
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It was an attempt at a perhaps tongue in cheek but serious reply. My approach is the room first and to decide what the room requires. For me it starts with the loudspeakers matched to the room, followed by the amplification to drive the loudspeakers, followed by the best source I can then afford. Others I know take a source first approach. That seems wrong to me in that unless the subsequent electronics and speakers are matched to the room , you will never hear what the source is capable of.
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Not to mention room acoustics too, of course. Seems to me that a lot of people spend vast sums on (for example) cables when addressing room-related issues for a fraction of the cost would have a far more significant impact.
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True but I understood your question was to try and identify what we thought was the key thing, rather than start a discussion on how people choose to spend their money?
It wasn’t my question, and I was just offering the view that the biggest impact on SQ is likely to be the room, it’s acoustics and any treatment thereof. Further, it’s a much cheaper fix than buying new equipment, spending outlandish sums on cables, etc.
Hi.
True. I was not and I am not looking at starting a discussion on what people should spend their money on.
But it would not be in keeping with the forum if it did not go off piste..
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Guilty, your honour.
Well I suppose you could tailor your system to the genres that you enjoy, or indeed flavour of the recordings you have in your collection. This goes to the view that’s certain brands of hi-fi suit classical or jazz or whatever. In my case this wouldn’t work as my collection reaches from Scarlatti to the Alt J and I imagine that is true of many of us on here. The other point made on the thread already and arguably the most important is room interface, so hypothetically Kudos 505s might work superbly in one room when matched with Naim electronics, whereas in another room Dalis with say Quad may suit better. Does this mean that you choose the Dalis but then try the Naim electronics, and can you do all this in your own surroundings?
My own take is that synergy is key, does it absorb you, when listening into the evening do you stay up to play more music? If yes, don’t think about source, cables, amps or speakers. And if late into the evening I’m tidying up the kitchen some Coltrane on the Qb2 fed across the network by the Core will satisfy just as much as the main system.
Here is screenshot of a YouTube video that may be of interest.
It concerns how the individual components in a piece denon equipment are chosen, to produce their signature sound. But the same principle applies when selecting equipment and accessories.
One guy likens it to a chef selecting the ingredients in a meal he creating.
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It was ceetainly a joke
The first part of the Equation is the Head/Self/Ears/Brain/consciousnesses.
Then the rest should follow a Fibonacci sequence of diminishing returns.
Then the result squared but theoretically pushed slightly oblong to avoid dark standing waves.
Due to the Laws of Thermal Dynamics there can only exist “more than the sum of its parts “
In Art and Literature. Certainly not in science and Hi-Fi.
Perhaps Cables and the Ethernet.
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Apologies, indeed not your question.
The most determinant and crucial component is not the room, neither boxes or speakers, neither câbles.
It’s the switch. More expensive, heavy and big it is, better will sound your system.
With a hifi system, in my experience the speakers are the most significant component in setting the sound character of a system - speakers all sound so very different from one another. Next in a digital system is the DAC. The room can also play a major part in sound quality, some more than others, though this is often the least considered part of the system, yet a key part of the system it is. But of course ultimately the outcome is the sum of the parts, though I’m not sure that summation is strictly correct.
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