Thus spake housetrained:
Blimey! I am living well in the past. 30 years? Blimey.

Lets get this straight please. Are you saying that if one has a cheap
system - fairly well balanced in that no one particular bit is substantially
better than any other - that using a far better amplifier & speakers won't
improve sound quality? I don't feel that spending considerably more on one
component is a good idea but hell, some of us have to upgrade in stages!

I don't hear Linn using that marketing phrase now they make other than just
source equipment. As has been pointed out, a CD or record is hardly the 1st
stage in the process that effects sound quality. I'm doubtless not alone in
having many poor recordings, especially non-classical ones: garbage in -
garbage out bites back with a vengeance & a top end source can highlight the
warts over & above one with less resolution!

Sorry, I agree that speakers have the greatest impact on overall sound of
any system - even moving them can transform/degrade the sound.