Rate these on order of importance:

Synergy between all of your criteria listed is most important. Source always tops my list as far as what to emphasize investment in (garbage in = garbage out). This subject has been beaten into the ground with a huge club on all the lists. Stick a fork in it, I think it's done! Archive searches will result in a plethora of opinions. Fact is the weakest link in the chain can potentially destroy the qualities and or limit the capacity of what the other links are yielding. Even combinations of what may be considered a "GREAT" speaker combined with a "GREAT" amp may not work well if the synergy is not there. A fantastic system can be severly compromised by the way it's set up and the room it is installed in. Beyond that such a question makes about as much sense to me as:

In getting the best taste from your pizza, list the importance of the following toppings in the order of their priority:

1. Cheese
2. Dough/Crust
3. Sauce
4. Pepporoni
5. Spices

You'll get 1001 opinions as different as fingerprints. It all matters. None of it matters at all. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Marco

1,5,4,3,2

1, 5 , 2, 4, 3.

Marco-
The Pizza analogy was great. Do you want a Smoking Loon Cab or Merlot with that pie? ;)

1 and 5 should really be tied for first--it's the interaction between the two that makes the sound. Everything else pales by comparison.