When a band, or orchestra, or vocalist makes a recording, the music generated must go through a mic, preamp/amp, mixer, and some kind of encoding. It then gets pressed, and when you listen to it, it passes through CD player, preamp, amp, speakers, and sub if you have one.
The recording stage is a mess of a lot of wires criss-crossing, and most of the electronic equipment contains a lot of op-amps, which is a no-no for the purist. Finally, the speaker is the greatest source of distortion, and the sub probably even worse. So why does debate on these subjects usually involve the criticism of one component, when clearly the rest of your system has contributed considerably more distortion.
