Hi end stereo is composed of amplifiers, speakers, cd players, turntables and cables. Each manufacturer tries to develop their respective technologies and create the best sound out of their products they can. An amplifier manufacturer seeks to produce the best sound they can from each watt of energy their products produce. A speaker manufacturer tries to produce sound that resembles a real instrument or vocal. Cd player and turntable manufacturers try to minimize vibrations and generate a distortion free signal. Cable companies take all of this energy and try to pass it through to each component in the cleanest way possible without adding any coloration of their own.
The most important component in the hi end stereo chain is the room in which all of these components are assembled and listened to. I want to say that that room acoustic product companies exhibit the same passion in producing their products as the amplifier, speaker, cd players, turntable, and cable manufacturers, but I can not. Most room acoustic companies create products that are cheap to manufacture, inexpensive to purchase and when they installed in a room, they sound like no effort was put into their development.