Try a few things out, listen to other people’s setups, work out what matters to you.
I easily get caught up in specs and numbers, and end up aiming at a sort of “ultimate” end-point. The rig that I’ve enjoyed listening to most, of late, is an 80s Marantz amp running a pair of big Celestion speakers (like really big, Ditton 33’s or 44’s).
I’ve heard cleaner, more detailed sound, but this setup sounded great, very warm, plenty detailed for me, and not in any way fatiguing. I guess what I’m saying is that sometimes “technically best” isn’t the same as most enjoyable, or best for your use-case
Try a few things out, listen to other people’s setups, work out what matters to you. I easily get caught up in specs and numbers, and end up aiming at a sort of “ultimate” end-point. The rig that I’ve enjoyed listening to most, of late, is an 80s Marantz amp running a pair of big Celestion speakers (like really big, Ditton 33’s or 44’s). I’ve heard cleaner, more detailed sound, but this setup sounded great, very warm, plenty detailed for me, and not in any way fatiguing. I guess what I’m saying is that sometimes “technically best” isn’t the same as most enjoyable, or best for your use-case