How much impact on the audio quality does the player have versus the speaker/headphone?

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So basically what I’m trying to ask is, assuming you can only choose one or the other, which is the better combo: playing on a high-end audio player and listening on a cheap speaker/headphones, or playing the music on a cheap player and listening on a high-end speaker or headset? Obviously having decent versions of both is the best-case scenario but this is not that case.

I’m asking because I used to run on the mobo audio but bought a Focusrtie Scarlett a year or so ago and honestly I couldn’t tell the difference on my speakers at he time. Now have changed the speakers as well and can’t really tell still. So I want to know from the audiophiles here.

I’m no audiophile by any means so maybe my ‘audio palette’ just isn’t refined enough. Hence the question. This is coming from a place of genuine curiosity since there seem to be so many audiophiles here.

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high end speaker/heapdhone for me if I had to choose.

Even if audio player is low quality it will still do its job to send audio signals.
If the output is only bad what will you do with high end audio player.

beside having good speakers/headsets give you options to use other devices too.

just think…Tasty Biryani at Road side Degi or not so tasty Biryani at 5star restaurant.
What will you choose.

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My understanding is speakers and headphones are responsible for translating the audio signal into sound waves, so I think high-quality output devices usually yields better overall sound quality.

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Headphones/Speakers → AMP → DAC(AudioSource) in that order.

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The sound will be as good as the weakest link in the chain.

The correct answer is neither.

If the question is about allocation of money, I would say fix the source first. Speakers are far more expensive than DACs of comparable quality.

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Let me give you an analogy:
You wont drink water from a gutter if the glass is from Ikea. Likewise, you wouldn’t drink water from the best RO purifier, if the glass being served is dirty.
Both the water source as well as the vessel you drink from have to be clean.
That being said, as you spend more money, there are diminishing returns on higher end audio equipment. Many of us cannot differentiate nuances of the same.

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You are pretty much answering your own question here.
It is a highly expensive rabbit hole of equally highly diminishing returns so stop before you succumb to the infection called audiofoolery like some of us including me have contracted over time.
If you cannot hear any audible difference between good and something better, you have already got the best.

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Yeah, the same thing happend with me. I was so in deep with mechnical keyboard without any significant gain.

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Cheap player with high end headphones any day

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All the roadside biryani and gutter water talk going on here haha.

Motherboard audio has gotten pretty good these days and most of us won’t notice any significant change from motherboard audio to DAC.

The upgrade (change in sound) will be much more evident when going from ₹1000 speakers to ₹5000 speaker and still evident going from say a ₹5000 speakers to ₹15000 speakers. As others have mentioned - diminishing returns.

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This is purely based on my limited experience. So others may not agree. And also, not applicable if you’re a professional with a recording studio or something.

For IEMs, beyond ₹1-2k, everything is going to sound similar.
For headphones, beyond 3-5k, it’s going to be difficult to differentiate.
Phone output and USB-C DAC maybe easy to differentiate (subject to you having a good enough headphone), but a 1k USB-C DAC and a 12k USB-C DAC are going to be difficult to differentiate.

I have spent a lot of money on audio products over the years and I still (foolishly) do. I just bought Audio Technica ATH M50X from this forum. Let me tell you, I can barely tell the difference between this and AKG K92 which I owned. That said, I wanted this also for the detachable cable and rotatable ear pads. So I’m still happy.

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The lowest fidelity in the entire chain is at electro-mechanical interface which is the transducer.
Microphone is a transducer, speaker is a transducer.
Improve that and it will lead to significant improvement in sound quality.

Any improvement in the electronic signal chain would be mostly heard only after someone tells the monetary price of equipment changed.
(In other words, the mind tell you: since you have spent money, it would be sounding good)
Also, many times the expensive electronic equipment comes with higher gain, therefore sounds slightly louder and that to our ears sometimes feel as if it sounds better.

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I used to own the Scarlett 2i2 paired with the M-Audio BX5 D2 + ATH M50 headphones, it’s just a competent entry level DAC that is transparent and more useful for its mic preamps over anything.
As others have already explained your output is as good as the weakest link.
In my experience the biggest jump over onboard audio I’ve experienced was first with the Xonar essence xtx almost 10 years ago and more recently listening to lossless audio on a DT990+Audioquest Dragonfly Black DAC/AMP.

https://www.amazon.in/AudioQuest-Dragonfly-Black-Preamp-Headphone/dp/B01DP5JHHI?th=1

I still regret selling the combo since the price of the AQ has almost doubled since I bought it and nothing I’ve tried since then shows a noticeable improvement in clarity and detailing to my ears.

Currently the SMSL SU-1 seems to be the budget king that provides a decent bump (as much as a user can get before entering the audiofool territory), skeptical in acquiring this one without a hands on experience, if anyone here has checked this out, please do post your experience.

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Let me break it down like this: An audio interfaces will provide you access to - dac + amp , XLR mic output and amp , volume control for balanced output, now this balanced out will provide you with - less electrical noise and l krrr krr when changing volume on big ass speakers (even the good one’s will produce more noise in unbalanced source). Attaching a subwoofer etc.

In case of headphones, you get amp + dac to drive high O headphones , thus also allowing better eq and gains , precise control rather than windows running audio etc.

So you gotta start with that.. a decent audio interfaces/dac/amp so something like that.. not very expensive ones but the one that gives you enough options.

Now with speaker, depends upon your room and purpose.. like movies? And gaming? The usual surround sound 5.1 or the bar + sub if you have less space.. if mixing and editing, studio monitors are expensive.

Headphones and iem? There are lots of reviews for what’s good for the price, can’t say for the IEM’s but for cans/headphones, AKG K361 are very good and close to the reference without blowing up, the Beyerdynamic will last you longer but while being more expensive. The ATH 40X, 50X , mix between the AKG and Dt770 . So sound wise, AKG 361 then 50X/770 , build wise , the opposite.
If you want open back, get either Sennheiser 599s or something similar for them or HI-FIMAN open back. For cheaper option, Koss ksc75 have been praised a lot

So these are good reference points which shows that it’s not the money that will give you the best audio regardless of the money spent, but you need both without overspending on either to get a good audio.. unless you fall for “Audiophile” and “Studio Mixing” grade, if it’s the latter and you are a professional , i don’t need to tell you any of this.. so don’t fall for the “Audiophile” marketing.

So this is my 2 cents on basis audio. Hope you don’t mind the few mistakes I made while typing this on phone.

in your case (I’m also curious about what upgrade in speaker have you brought, the JBL’s 308? or the jbl subwoofer?) the , the focusrite has actually made difference, maybe less in terms of sound you hear, but more in terms of control over it and the more choices it allows you to connect.. like trs balanced.. maybe try high res Audi with precise eq (some digging up the settings required initially) , you will hear the difference if the output device is also good.

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I’d go for better speakers. You can always tweak the equaliser settings on your phone or computer to get a sound you like, but your speakers you can’t really tune. Also, your speakers will last longer than your motherboard.
And, about not being able to tell the difference - once you get used to hearing high fidelity sound, nothing else will do.
Your ears and mind will learn to pick up all the nuances your current system can’t output, and once that happens you’ll either be permanently broke or forever dissatisfied .

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OMG so many responses!! I knew there were quite a few audiophiles here but I still wasn’t expecting this deluge! Thank you everyone for taking the time!

Sorry I cannot reply individually, so I will just address some points here.

I am not looking to upgrade or anything at the moment. This was just a theoretical question out of curiosity and wanting answers from people who know more about audio stuff than I do.

I am quite happy with what I have right now (Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 + Edifier MR4s + ATH M50xs) versus what I had earlier (mobo audio + Logitech Z623s). What I have now is a pretty decent setup from what I Googled and read and watched on various forums, YouTube channels etc.

And it’s not like the sound is bad. Perhaps I was a little “ungenerous” when I said I couldn’t tell a difference in my original post. There was an improvement definitely. Just that it was not a mind-blowing one, to my ears at least. So yah, there was a difference. But was it worth the money spent, is a question I have a hard time answering, even to myself. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Many of you mentioned diminishing returns and I guess I hit that bar at a (relatively) low budget point, before I got too much into the really high end side of the ‘rabbit hole’ as some termed it. Maybe I am just lucky to have pleb ears that are happy even with the Creative 5.1s and the cheap Philips wired earphones that I used to have long ago. XD

But definitely some interesting responses. Made me want to try some IEMs now, even though I hate earphones that go into the ear canal. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Thank you all for your most enlightening observations and insights. Really appreciate them all. :slight_smile:

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No idea about your ears but we are definitely living in a great age where you can get great quality (as measured) audio at a low budget.
You really do not need to splurge.

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