It converts the 0s and 1s into the analog signal you hear. It’s the first, and usually weakest part of the chain. Upgrade that and you might hear some detail above 128 kps😉

• Speaks: That’s subjective. Apart from studio monitors speakers aren’t designed to reproduce signals accurately, and engineers are going to massage their frequency response to suit the target / range of consumer(s). Can probably think of speakers like buying old prime lenses for cameras. Are you gonna benefit from spending $800 on something made with modern design and manufacturing? Yes. Will a model that was top of the line in the late 80’s that you found for a bargain be fine for casual listening? Absolutely. • Preamps: No idea. All my speakers I listen to music through are active, and have internal, matched preamps. Never went down this rabbit hole. • DACs: Easiest element to be evaluate scientifically. Start by looking at a graph of the frequency response of any potential DAC, which anything worthwhile will have in the tech specs, and look for ones that are the most flat up to 20 kHz. You also want to make sure that any DAC you spend money on has an accurate clock that can synchronize with the source you’ll use it with. This is the weakest link in most signal chains, and budget DACs have come a long way from where they were 20 years ago, when most everything had muddy lows and a shrill upper range. This is one of the reasons for the common misconception that analog audio sounds better than digital (which are all worth understanding). Honestly any halfway-decent, dedicated DAC is going to be a big enough upgrade to be noticeable even while playing shittily mastered pop music with a squashed dynamic range over stock speakers in a car driving down the highway. If you want a recommendation look into FiiO’s products. They make Android-based Digital Audio Players that can be used as standalone DACs over USB or Bluetooth. Haven’t looked at their lineup in years, but 8 years ago I paid $99 for one of their DAPs that ran circles around the DAC in my studio.

No shame. Would take decent speakers with a high quality DAC over the converse all day.

Maybe if you listen to music through a moldy potato 128 kps is sufficient.

There’s an obvious difference between 96 and 128 kps. Seems like the limit of perception’s gotta be at least 256 - 320 kps.