Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Front end = source = cd player, record player, tuner, squeezebox, laptop or whatever
Then you have amplification
Then speakers

When I was first interested in hifi, I think I did what a lot of people naturaly do and think its all about the speakers, but over the years, I think the above order is bang on, within limits of reasonablness.

The proof is in putting a pair of relativly down to earth speakers (lets say some £200 bookshelf jobbies from the likes of Monitor Audio or B&W) on the end of a top end system (lets say a NAIM CDX and 52/250).

It never ceases to amaze me what the budget speakers can do, they just keep getting better as you improve the kit up stream.

The key is in finding a nice balance, and where posible getting an extended demo in your own home. Good hifi dealers will lend you kit to try before you commit, but in the consumer age of internet shopping, ebay and bargin hunting this is not always possible.

One thing I would say is that buying decent second hand british hifi kit can be quite risk free, as you can buy somthing, try it out and if you are not in love with it, move it on for more or less what you paid for it.