Here's a thought experiment for you.
Take your favorite set of electronics: perhaps a BHK preamp and amp with a DirectStream DAC and all interconnected with Audioquest Dragons.
For loudspeakers, we'll do an AB test using the exact same electronic chain. Speaker A is a pair of aspen FR10s, and speaker B is a pair of Avante Garde horns. Each loudspeaker pair was previously arranged by ear for best setup, tonal balance, and imaging.
Walk into a room blindfolded (don't trip over the sofa). Could you tell the difference? Would you imagine the differences to be huge or small?
I haven't made this exact experiment but I've had similar experiences and can tell you the differences would be stark even to a casual and untrained observer.
What does this mean?
Aside from reinforcing my consistent argument on the importance of speakers first, what it really shows to me is the wildly different results of how music is presented on a high end audio system. Magnitudes of differences in how instruments are reproduced. On both systems, violins sound like violins yet they would be so different from one another as to be bordering on chocolate and vanilla.
Perhaps instructive to remember how vast the chasm between systems are despite the fact we would label each of these as high end.
Makes one wonder what that means.
