[DRSpeed85]

As stated in the title, which of the four components account most to sound? I read somewhere that it is 95% headphone and you can see that my rig is composed based on such theory, but I am starting to believe that it may not be true.

 

[warpdriver]

headphones make a very large OBVIOUS difference, that is, there are things about changing headphones that hit you right off the bat.

However, I'm a big believer in garbage-in-garbage-out. Changing your source will make improvements that allow the rest of your system to shine. Detail, resolution, rhythm, imaging are all things that are affected by the quality of your source AND source material.

I think amps complete the picture, sort of the pipe in the middle. You need to make sure that nothing in your system is too weak.

On the whole, the headphone makes a huge difference, and the source brings the best out of your headphone. The amp is the workhorse, but for me, it doesn't make as dramatic a difference unless you were starving your system for power.

As you get more experienced on what to listen for, the source and amp can together make a big difference provided your headphones are revealing enough.

 

[kramer5150]

Depends on the headphone. Some cans are more sensitive to amplification than others.

With the RS1/HF1/A250:
Cans
Source
Amp
I listed amp last because I find that with a well designed cmoy they sound very good.

With the HD580:
Cans
Amp & Source (both equal)
These things can pretty dramatically change their sonic character with amplification enhancements and source changes.

It also depends on your philosophy towards amplification. if you prefer the kind of amp that merely amplifies the sound (wire with gain), then an amp may not be that significant. If you pick out amp and its components to COLOR the sound, then the amp may be a more significant contributor than the source.

Note I'm also assuming a minimum sound quality level requirement for sources in these discussions.
IMHO of course.