So, what is the most important ? The source, the amplification or the transducer? I think it's a combined effort, and here's why:
Now I've seen a lot of almost philosophical approaches to hi-fi, or rather music-reproduction. Let me give you my 2 cents.
It has been a while, but I've been selling Hifi-equipment for fifteen years, hearing and weighing the weirdest arguments. Usually there are three sides or convictions..
A. The source is the most important. Obviously, if you start with a crappy signal how can you expect good results ?
I think they are correct. If you use a bad recording, or a good recording on a bad source, a good set-up should let you hear just that. It should sound like a bad start.
B. The amplification is the most important. It's like the engine in your car: There's no substitute for cubic inches.. You need power to move !
I think they are correct. If you use an amplifier that can't control the movement of your speakers ( or headphones ) how can you expect to enjoy the end result. Your transducer will do all kinds of things it is not supposed to do.. That makes for a bad finish as well.
C. The loudspeaker/headphone is by far the most important. If the air that reaches your eardrums isn't moving correctly, what can you expect ? It'll all be a waste of time and money..
I think they are correct. If that beautiful and electronically correct signal is not translated into moving air-molecules the way it is supposed to.. Well, what's the point of it all, really.
D. was mostly not even considered until I mentioned it. Room acoustics. Just compare a heavily carpeted bedroom to a fully tiled-up bathroom. Headphones were the perfect solution for D. Nowadays you can use digital room-correction software we didn't have back then, Dirac comes to mind.
F. are the cables, powerlines etcetera, but believe me, it follows the same pattern.
Now my own enjoying-music philosophy has always been a combination. For comparison I used four sheets of glass to look through. All four ( three if you use headphones ) are dirty. You can see what's on the other side, but the view is murky at best. To get a better view you start cleaning one of the glass sheets. After a proper cleaning you put it back, and who would have guessed.. The entire picture looks a little better.
So, it was not that difficult to convince anyone who was completely and utterly stuck on either A,B or C that it was pointless to spend hours ( translate that into a lot of money ) on their sheet of glass if the other sheets were still rather dirty.. Clean up the dirtiest ( there's always one ) and enjoy the view.. ehh.. music.. Then look for your next project.
I just replaced my Asgard3 with a Jotunheim, and I hear the difference, even with my cheapo sennheiser earbuds, more so with my HD660S.
Like I said, just my 2 cents..
Eagerly awaiting my Modius sometimes next week..