音響最重要的一環

喇叭、擴大機、訊源，哪一個環節最重要，值得投入最多預算，真是歷久不衰的熱門話題。之前在網路上又與人論及此話題，我提出「訊源有如一個人的靈魂與氣質，擴大機是骨肉，喇叭是皮相」的說法，每一環都很重要，各自影響了系統不同的層面。那些將喇叭視為第一的人，當然不同意我的看法。

前天翻閱過期的 The Absolute Sound 雜誌，第 151 期的 The Cutting Edge 專欄正好討論到相同的話題，篇名為 Playback Systems: What Matters Most?。TAS 找 Wilson Audio 的創辦人 David A. Wilson 和 Linn 的創辦人 Ivor Tiefenbrun 來各置一詞，然而參與討論的 TAS 評論員 Jonathan Valin 倒是提出了一個不錯的見解：

What I can say is that over the last three decades I've owned or reviewed several wonderful systems in which the loudspeakers were inexpensive, or relatively so--like the Maggie 1.6QRs or LS3/5a's or the original Quads. I've also owned or reviewed wonderful systems in which the loudspeakers were very expensive--like the Rockport Hyperions or the Kharma 3.2 Monitors. But I don't think I've ever owned or reviewed a truly satisfying system in which the front end wasn't first-rate.

這個看法和我的經驗不謀而合。只要氣質好，有智慧，即使外表不美，依然值得敬愛。空有美好的外在，毫無內涵，就很難長期相處了，只能騙騙膚淺的外行人。